What Secrets Lie Hidden
by chibimelody
Summary: Formally known as Changing the Past. Pre-game story. Miyaiku Valetine has been sent back in time to stop the cause of the end of the world. Takes place during Cloud's days in the Shinra army. Shounen-ai in later chapters. Rated R for some chapters.
1. Prologue

Hello everyone. This is my first attempt at a fanfiction. I hope it's not bad  
  
/-mental thoughts  
  
//-someone mentally talking to person  
  
( )-flashback scence  
  
It was just three years after the meteor incident. Three years  
and everything went to hell again. This time though, it wasn't a  
happy ending. It wasn't suppose to happen.things weren't suppose  
to end up like this, but they did. I heard stories from my mother  
about how HE led them to the last battle to rid this world of a  
delusional megalomaniac. She told me that she fought along side  
him and their friends to save the precious life of the planet. HE  
answered the prayer for an angel whose life was ended too soon by  
a silver light cloaked in darkness. But, if it's true, why, why  
did he become the angel of death himself?  
  
Because of him, we live in caves or underground bunkers. Because  
of him, we're afraid that if we leave, hungry animals or monsters  
would make us their next meals. Because of Him we mirror the  
living dead from lack of food, water, sleep, the comforts of the  
old life. Because of HIM, this world is nothing but a fucking  
wasteland. Life here is either extinct or on the verge of  
extinction. The sun, stars, the moon, are hidden away by the  
dust, clouds, ashes. Rivers and lakes are dry because there's  
hardly any rain or if there is rain, it's acidic. Hell, even the  
oceans are drying up because it's that bad out here. Sometimes  
there's a seedling trying to grow, but with all the elements now  
stacked against it, it's a wonder why it even bothers. Hope now a  
days, is nothing but a lifeless dream. 


	2. Chapter 1

I got up off the ground and walked to the cave entrance. It was my turn for lookout. I look a deep breath and looked around. Nothing. Nothing but soulless mountain tops. I look up to the sky.  
  
/ Oh, the sun's peeking through today. How wonderful. Maybe we could grow a garden and sing as we dance in the pansies! /  
  
I kick the wall with my heel as I lean on it.  
  
/ Damn that bastard. Damn that fucking Cloud! /  
  
Yes, the hero of the meteor crisis is to blame for this misery. How you ask? Dunno. Nobody knows. Mom said that he just snapped one day. I can tell you what happened from what I've heard and seen, but for the reason behind it all, that'll be a mystery for you too.  
  
Ah yes, it was twenty years ago when Cloud Strife and company fought Sephiroth and stopped meteor from destroying the world. Midgar was partially destroyed and many people died, but compared to what could have been the world, it was a small price to pay. The warriors, of course, were branded as heroes and their victory was celebrated in Kalm. After all that crap, they went to help rebuild Midgar. Mako was no longer used to power the city and the slums were no longer there. The plate was rebuilt with a city on it still. Of course not everyone wanted to be on the plate. So those that stayed on the ground, actually built a little city around the plate. That way, they could see the sky and have fresh, clean, air. Tifa even kept her bar down there. As for Shinra, it still existed. Many better improvements were made to it, so it wasn't a blood sucking bastard corporation like it was before. Reeve became president and many people seemed to like him. Oh yeah, they did find Rufus' body and buried his ass. Scarlet and fat boy Heid-something were never seen again, but they're probably dead now anyway. Anyway, when Midgar was almost finished, the heroes went to restart their lives. Barret took Marlene back to North Corel with him so he could help rebuild that town. Red XIII went back to Cosmo Canyon and became the town elder. Cid went back to Rocket Town and married Shera, however weird that sounds. I couldn't see that chain-smoking, swearing, old pilot settling down and having children. Yes, children. Twins in fact! I pictured just looking up at the sky one day, seeing the Highwind II fly by and just hearing some cursing as cigarettes rain from the sky. Scary thought. Vincent went exploring the world, or so he said, but I think he went looking for Lucrecia. He never found her though, and retired in Wutai. He met my mom, Yuffie, there. Of course, where else would she have been after she got caught stealing Cloud's materia again? Spike boy nearly killed her for that. Anyway, getting off topic here. Vincent and Yuffie got married, had me, and became Lord and Lady of Wutai after grandfather Godo died. I, in turn, would have become the heiress if it wasn't for the fact that Wutai was destroyed. So now that leaves Cloud and Tifa. You would think that they would be together, but they never started a relationship. Ok, it was mainly Cloud that didn't want it. Tifa longed for it, but Cloud never seemed interested in one. I think my father and I were the only ones that noticed there was no interest because there was something or someone holding his heart. And he was grieving from it. Sometimes, I would look in his eyes, regardless of his happy expression, and notice an emptiness lurking, an incomplete soul. I think perhaps, that that was part of the reason he went mad. This was seventeen years ago, I was three. One day, while I was playing with my dolls on the steps of the Pagoda, I never realized that it would be my last day to live a normal life...  
  
Flashback  
( A little girl is sitting on the steps of the Pagoda. Her hair was a raven black color styled in two buns with green clothes covering them, tied with blue ribbons. Her eyes were an unnatural royal blue-forest greenish color. She was wearing a blue and green kimono. The girl looked up from her dolls at the sound of a door slamming shut. Vincent was running towards the Pagoda. The girl stood up.  
  
" Daddy? What's wrong? You look scared?"  
  
FLASH  
  
Vincent and Yuffie both came running out of the Pagoda. Vincent scoops up the little girl as they run towards the village. The little girl reaches out for her dolls that were left on the steps.)  
  
I didn't understand. I didn't know why they were so scared. They didn't tell me a thing. They handed me to our maid and told her to take me to the safe room. They ran towards the village, leaving me with that last image of them being together alive. My mother told me what happened next, since I wasn't there. She told me what happened to the town when the hero of the world lost all sense of reason.  
  
( "I can't believe it Vincent," Yuffie equipped her mastered materia onto her conformer "It, it just can't be. How-"  
  
"It is what we never expected, but I don't know why" Vincent  
checked his death penalty "I can't believe it myself, but that's  
the report from Cid."  
  
"Maybe it's Sephiroth again! Maybe he's still alive and- and is playing those mind games on Cloud again!" Yuffie concluded "It's not like he could do it to himself right?"  
  
She looked at Vincent for reassurance. He just continued to  
check his weapon in silence. Outside, people were running  
around to get ready for an attack. All the people who couldn't  
fight were sent to the safe room in the main house or in caves  
on the DaChao statue.  
  
"Vincent, you don't think he just snapped all by himself do you?" Yuffie looked a bit worried.  
  
"I don't know, but I can't rule that thought out just yet." Vincent sighed " Sometimes I could feel, that something just wasn't right when he was around. At first, he was fine, but after time, there was this ever growing dying feeling around him. Something was making him miserable, eating away at his soul. If Sephiroth and Jenova are still dead, then it's he himself that's doing this."  
  
"Maybe he'll snap out of it! If, we his friends, can bring him back from his delusions, he-"  
  
"He killed Tifa"  
  
Yuffie looked horrified, "What?")  
  
He killed Tifa. If they were to bring him back, he would probably snap again once he realized he killed his best friend. He killed Tifa while they were arguing. Cid told mom and dad, that Cloud killed her and then summoned Knights of the Round Table. He destroyed Midgar. Cid found out from Reno, who escaped to Kalm and called Cid. Soon afterwards, Kalm was destroyed. Cid called dad to tell him the news. Where Cloud would go after Kalm was unknown, but Cid readied an army at Rocket Town. Barret was ready in North Corel. Red XIII got his people ready. If Cloud caught Midgar off guard, then it wouldn't happen to the other towns. They would be ready to stop him. But they were wrong, so wrong.  
  
( Suddenly there was a loud blast from outside. Yuffie and Vincent ran outside to see the horror of comets obliterating the town and slaughtering the towns people.  
  
"Shit...." Yuffie looked on in fear.)  
  
Wutai was destroyed within a matter of hours. More than half the population was dead. This was an eerie resemblance to the Sephiroth/Nibelheim incident. One person single handily destroyed a town and it's people. We never found out, in what order Cloud destroyed each town in the world. But it didn't really matter now did it? No one was able to stop him. Cid, Barrett, Tifa, Vincent all died by his hand with many others that day. He almost took my mother that day too, but we managed to find a full cure in time for her. Before my father died, he told me to take care of my mother and the people of this town, and that he loved us very much. I was sad, angry, drowning in pure hate for that bastard, Cloud. He took away my fucking life that day. I even admired him once, but I wanted to murder him after that day. After we buried the dead, we moved into the mountain caves in the Wutain mountain range. Later, when we explored the towns, we found Red XIII still alive. He came to live with us although he was unable to fight no more due to a missing hind leg, and half limp front leg. From that, he just became a planner for attacks. When we visited all the places, we realized, that in one day, Cloud managed to bring most the world to his feet. In several days, everything was brought to his feet. Over the years, the world kept dying, as the population kept dwindling down to only a few thousand. We never saw him after that day in Wutai, but everyone knew he still was alive. We could feel it.  
  
When I was old enough to learn to fight, my mom showed me how to use her weapon, swords, guns....anything that might be helpful in killing Cloud. She even taught me how to do martial arts. People were amazed at how fast and good I was. Mom joked that I might be the one who takes Cloud down. It would be nice to save the world. But some thing made me feel that I'd be saving Cloud from himself too.  
  
I was seventeen, when it happened. Another surprise attack. Cloud found us or perhaps he already knew where we were. In the darkest hour, he silently killed the unaware watchmen. He came up to the main room of the cave and stood there. Many people were asleep but some were up. He didn't attack. He just stood there with a fake grin and icy cold stare. But I noticed something else in those lifeless eyes. I saw.........sadness. I saw he was hurting from something and it was just breaking his heart to pieces. Although I don't remember what happened next, I do know he attacked us since I later regained consciousness. When I was knocked out, I had a dream. No, not a dream, because it felt like my soul was being taken somewhere. I saw beautiful, little, green glowing orbs of light floating all around me. They looked like fireflies. Then, it hit me.........I was in the lifestream. I felt the lifestream rush up and surrounded me. It felt warm.........and comforting. I thought I was dead, but I didn't feel sad. Here, I was safe and happy, so why would I want to be anywhere else? Everything else was here.........so let me stay..........  
  
( // It wasn't suppose to happen//  
  
/ Wha?/  
  
// We didn't see it coming//  
  
/ What? Who's-/  
  
// Don't worry child, we won't hurt you//  
  
/ You're the Cetra.........?!/  
  
// You're going to be fine.......// )  
  
They told me I wasn't dead, damnit, but close to it. They didn't want me to die. They said that I might be what saves this planet. I woke up after being unconscious for over an hour. I remember looking around and seeing many people hurt, dying, or already dead. Some even looked fine. I saw my mom lying there dead. I ran over to her and tried to wake her up, but I knew deep down she was gone. I was hurting emotionally, but physically, I was fine. In fact, it took me awhile to realize that my body felt even better than before. I noticed the scars though which made me remember that the Cetra told me I was close to dying. I guess they healed me. I had hoped that it wasn't real, but it was. Because after that day, they would come to me while I was sleeping. Then after awhile of that, they came to me while I was awake. I remember the first night of it very clearly.  
  
( // It wasn't suppose to happen//  
  
/ What stuff?/  
  
// Cloud.........//  
  
/ The stuff with Cloud you say?/  
  
// After Sephiroth and meteor, things were suppose to be normal again//  
  
/ Heh, what is normal?/  
  
// You know what we mean//  
  
/ Yeah, yeah/  
  
// We never saw what was coming. To us.........no, everyone but Aeris, thought Cloud was free. Life was back to normal for him, but we couldn't see it, couldn't feel it//  
  
/ But how come? How was Aeris able to know? You're the Cetra!/  
  
// The planet was weak from using holy and the lifestream. The planet weakens.........so do we. But Aeris...........Aeris had a way to know//  
  
/ What way?/  
  
// I was connected to him by love..........//  
  
/ Aeris?/ )  
  
What I remember next was being in a field of flowers. The sky was the most gorgeous blue with very few clouds and the sun was just shinning bright. Aeris was sitting in the field, picking flowers and humming to herself. I never knew what she looked like before since she was deceased and everything. She looked like an angel. Her braided light brown hair held up by a pink ribbon was flowing in the wind. Her skin was so pale but perfect for her, with eyes of emerald green. They always looked happy even when she was sad. It looked kinda freaky to me. Her dress the color of pink, was draped so perfect over her nicely shaped body. And she was always barefoot. When it was just Aeris talking to me in my sleep, I would always be taken to that field. I guess it was her Promised Land. I liked being there and I think she knew that.  
  
( / What is this place?/  
  
// I come here when I want to be left alone with my thoughts. It makes me happy being here when I'm sad//  
  
/ I heard you never got sad. Cloud said you smiled to the end/  
  
// Heehee. A person like me can get sad you know, just never show it//  
  
/ Ok........./  
  
// You've noticed, haven't you?//  
  
/Noticed what?/  
  
//Cloud........./  
  
/.........yeah........../  
  
// And you still notice it don't you?//  
  
/.........../  
  
// I feel him sometimes//  
  
/ Huh?/  
  
//I feel him still to this day//  
  
/ Feel what?/  
  
//Him crying for help. He's stuck somewhere dark and cold, calling for someone to find him. He's crying out for help and I can feel it, but I can't find him. I know he feels me trying because he would call out for me, but I can't reach him. He's too far away.........//  
  
/ Do you know..........know why he went crazy?/  
  
//The real reason? No, but I know Jenova was starting to twist it and burn it into him//  
  
/ Shit.........does she not know how to stay dead?/  
  
// She perhaps, is alive because part of her is still inside him//  
  
/ I'm assuming that if you guys didn't do something in the first place to stop Jenova or Cloud, you can't do it now/  
  
// No//  
  
/ They told me, the Cetra, that I might be able to save the planet. What do they mean?/  
  
// I can't tell you yet because we might not be able to do it//  
  
/ What? What might not work?/  
  
// I'm sorry but I need to go now. Don't worry, we'll come talk to you some more//  
  
/ What? Hey wait! Don't go!/  
  
//Goodbye//  
  
/No! Wait!/ )  
  
I woke up reaching out for her. The people around me looked confused. I wanted to tell them what happened, but the last thing Aeris told me was not to let them know that I could talk to the Cetra. Oh well, some of them probably wouldn't believe me anyway. 'Least I made a friend..........kinda. Yeah, Aeris and I would talk about lots of stuff. It was like she was a real friend. She told me about her life and I told her about mine. It made me feel happy to have someone around, especially after Red XIII finally died. I always wondered though, what the Cetra meant by I could be what saves this world. I guess I would find out sometime.  
  
I sat down against the wall, pulling my knees up to my chest, and wrapping my arms around them. I'm twenty now and still nothing has happened. I'm still here in these ragged clothes in freezing temperatures with hardly any food to eat. One thing changed though. My senses, physical appearance, and strength have enhanced somewhat. And my eyes kinda glow. I guess the Cetra have been infusing me over the years with spirit energy. The clean version of mako. Maybe they're getting me ready for something. I'm the one saving us from monsters now. I can beat the shit out of them like they were nothing. The others like it but don't understand what has happened to me, nor do I care to tell them.  
  
/ Sigh, I'm getting bored here. I think I'll go visit Aeris. Hey Aeris! I'm bored talk to me!/  
  
A minute goes by and I don't hear her.  
  
/ Aeris? Are you there? Hey, your flowers won't die while you're talking to me, so let them be. By the gods, they can't die there anyway/  
  
Still nothing. Ok, I'm getting worried now.  
  
/ .........Aeris?/  
  
// She's gone!//  
  
/ What the-/  
  
Suddenly there was something forced through my body. A.........sword? I look down to see what was making me feel cold. There was a sword..........no, not just any ordinary sword. It was the ultimate weapon, piercing right through my heart. Cloud.........?.........Why? I feel the blood dripping down my dying frame, along with this burning, painful feeling running through my body. I look up to see Cloud.........just standing there grinning at me.  
  
/ Did.........did he know..........?/  
  
I felt the sword slide out of me along with my life. I slumped over to the ground, trying to bring the breath back to me, but it was too late and I knew it. I was dying..........but I don't want to die. I wanted to live. The tears were falling from my eyes before I knew it. This time, I was gonna die for real.  
  
/ I.........feel........./  
  
// Sorry Miyaiku, but there's nothing that can save me now//  
  
/ Cl.............ou..........d........./  
  
I saw him walk into the cave as my eyes closed for the last time. 


	3. Chapter 2

All sick and no sleep make chibi have writer's blocks galore.  
Oh man, I didn't want this chapter to be this long, but it is.  
I only made the first 2 chapters in Miyaku's point of view while  
the rest will be in second? Third? Point of view. Man I can't  
think. Oh, I don't hate Cloud or Zack. I love them to pieces.  
I love Sephy more though, but I'm goin to have to make fun of  
all three of them. Shit, I want to make a sandwich with them  
later but I don't have anywhere to stick that at in the story.  
Anyway me shut up now.  
  
// Miyaiku.........Miyaiku.........open your eyes.........//  
  
/.........Aer.........Aeris.........?/  
  
// You're safe now Miyai//  
  
Miyaiku opens her eyes. She's in the  
lifestream again, and is floating around, naked, curled up in a  
ball.  
  
/..........I feel.........different Aeris..........what's this  
feeling?/  
  
// It's the feeling of no longer being alive  
Miyai.........//  
  
/ So.........I really am dead/  
FLASH  
  
Miyaiku is standing in the field of flowers  
she's been to several times. Her long, raven black hair is  
flowing in the wind.  
  
// I noticed you cried before you died//  
  
/ I didn't want to die........./  
  
// That's funny, I thought you didn't mind at  
one point//  
  
/ It doesn't really matter now........./  
  
" Don't say that." Aeris' arms wrapped around  
Miyaiku to hold her from behind.  
  
" Aeris.........why didn't you come?" Miyai lowered her  
head  
  
" Because, it was time" Aeris rested her head on  
Miyai's back  
  
" Time for what?" Miyai grabbed a hold of Aeris'  
arms  
  
" To save the world" Aeris said softly  
  
" What?" Miyai turned around, taking a step back  
from her  
  
" You're gonna save the world, silly" Aeris smiled  
  
" H-How? I'm dead Aeris" Miyai looked confused  
  
" I've noticed" Aeris giggled  
  
Miyai growled  
  
// Calm down Miyaiku//  
  
"Hmph!" Miyai stomped  
  
// Miyaiku, listen carefully to us. We never told you how you could  
save the planet because we weren't sure if we could do what we plan to  
do//  
  
" Soooo, what's the plan?"  
  
// We're going to send you back in time.........//  
  
"What?!" Miyai jumped back startled  
  
// We're sending you back in time to the era we think you might be  
able to save Cloud//  
  
" You want me to save Cloud?!" Miyai shouted. "That's your 'big plan'  
on saving the world?! How the fuck is that going to work?!"  
  
" The lifestream........." Aeris said  
  
" Lifestream?" Miyai asked puzzled " Lifestream what?"  
  
// We're going to send you back in time through the lifestream//  
  
" You can do that?"  
  
" Why not?" Aeris says " Life's a full circle you know"  
  
" But.........why did you wait so long to do it? Why didn't you send  
someone back when Cloud first started goin' mad?"  
  
// The planet was too weak, Miyaiku. We couldn't even if we tried.  
So.........we waited. We started slowly gathering the strength to do it  
even though the planet was dying. We finally managed to preserve  
enough energy. Now's the chance to do it//  
  
" Ok, but why choose me?"  
  
" Out of everyone left, you seemed to be the most promising." Aeris  
said "Both mentally and physically."  
  
" Next question. Why do you want to save Cloud, not kill  
him?"  
  
Aeris laughs.  
  
"What? What's so funny?"  
  
" Miyai, without him, Sephiroth would be running around  
being God" Aeris said  
  
" Then I'll kill him too"  
  
// No, you're not going to kill anyone. Sephiroth would  
still be more powerful than you. We don't want to risk you  
getting killed. We just want you to find out what's wrong with  
Cloud and help him fix it//  
  
" I always thought changing the past was taboo.........but I  
guess in this case it's not. All right, I'll do it."  
  
" Like you had a choice there." Aeris giggled  
  
" What happens if I fail?"  
  
" You'll come back here and be dead for good." Aeris  
smiled  
  
"That's lovely" Miyai groaned  
  
The lifestream started flowing up from beneath Miyai.  
  
// Your body will be your old one, but be more Soldier-  
like. That means your eyes will glow like theirs Whatever you  
do, do not raise anybody's suspicions on purpose. Sephiroth  
will notice you but that can't be helped. Just don't cause him  
to react, especially if Hojo is around. We don't want Hojo  
injecting Jenova cells into you. She might try to corrupt you  
too//  
  
"So, what time period will I be sent back to?"  
  
" To the time when Cloud joins the Shinra army." Aeris said " I  
think that's when it started."  
  
"Will I be able to talk to you guys still?"  
  
"We'll be around. Just don't get involved with the Aeris of  
that time, ok?"  
  
"Sure"  
  
"Bye for now." Aeris waved.  
  
"Bye" Miyai smiled  
  
The lifestream rushed up from below Miyaiku, engulfing her.  
  
/ Wait for me.........Cloud........./  
  
Midgar was bustling city compared to Nibelheim. Maybe not as  
clean and moral as Cloud's hometown but he rather be here  
anyway.  
  
/ Anywhere is better than that place/  
  
The train came to a screeching halt in the upper plate station.  
It was filled with young boys and a few young girls with dreams  
of being in Soldier. Cloud was among them. His reason for  
joining the Shinra army was probably different than the rest of  
the overly happy people here. The train doors opened and  
regardless of what the announcement said about exiting in an  
orderly fashioned way, everyone except Cloud tried to squeeze  
their way out in a hurry.  
  
" Idiots........." Cloud said to himself " Whoa!"  
  
" Oh, sorry about that" A boy stood up from falling onto Cloud's  
lap.  
  
" Yeah, yeah" Cloud shooed him away.  
  
After everyone got off, Cloud exited the train and looked  
around. Everyone was talking, laughing, playing around. Cloud  
sighed. He never had any friends to do that socializing thing  
with. In fact, all the kids hated him and picked on him. He  
always tried to show them he could be cool too, but they'd  
always laugh and ignore him afterwards. It just wasn't the kids  
there, it was the adults too. Suddenly someone bumped into  
Cloud, knocking him to the ground.  
  
" Oh, I'm sorry there girlie!" A tall boy who looked about  
nineteen laughed and walked back to his group of snickering  
lowlifes.  
  
" Girlie?" Cloud stood up, dusting himself off. "Why does  
everyone think I look like a girl?"  
  
Yeah, sure Cloud was rather small for his age and has hair that  
is gold as a Sea Chocobo's feathers, but couldn't they tell he  
didn't have any boobs? And that he may look frail, he actually  
had some muscles to his arms from training himself to fight.  
It's not like he had anything else to do.........He dressed like a boy  
although his voice hasn't entirely changed yet. And, and his  
hair was spikey! Would a girl have spikey hair like that?! Oh  
but his eyes were the cutest blue on boy anyone has seen. Did  
that make him more feminine? Everyone was too busy to notice  
that a line of buses were heading their way except for Cloud.  
  
/ Great, now I'll be crammed in a bus with them........./  
  
Cloud shuddered at the thought. The buses stopped infront of  
the station. Many people actually started to pay attention as  
the doors opened and Shinra guards came out and stood beside the  
doors. At one of the front buses, a Soldier came out followed  
by a large bearded man in a general's outfit. He looked like he  
was forty something since some of his black hair and beard had a  
few greys in them. He also looked like he was a prick with that  
"I'm so great" look. Cloud sighed. He was hoping it would have  
been Sephiroth that stepped of the bus. He's never seen the guy  
but heard he's not hard to notice. This guy definitely isn't  
the Great Sephiroth. The crowd started going quiet as the  
Soldier and large guy made their way to the front center. Many  
of the girls made cat calls at the Soldier.  
  
" Hey there Soldier boy!" A red headed girl cooed and  
waved at him " You're so sexy!"  
  
The Soldier with the outrageous black hair winked and gave  
her a peace sign. The girl blushed and turned to brag to her  
girlfriends.  
  
/ Great, he seems full of it/  
  
The two men motioned their hands to hush the crowd.  
  
" Here goes another boring speech........." Cloud yawned " Time  
to drown out the talking.........."  
  
" Ladies and gentlemen! Fore and fore most, welcome to the  
Shinra family!" The hefty guy greeted  
  
The crowd cheered as Cloud pulled out headphones from his  
duffle bag.  
  
" My name is Elmer Heidegger, head of the military  
department. And this fine lad here, is Zachary Delenger,  
Soldier third class"  
  
" Yo" Zack grinned  
  
The ladies started whistling and giggling.  
  
" Play" Cloud pushed the button on his CD player / Too bad  
I won't be able to do this with rest of the speeches to come/  
  
// Wait for me.........Cloud........./  
  
The voice startled Cloud. He looked around. Everyone was  
paying attention to Heidegger. He looked up to the sky  
confused.  
  
/ What was that?/  
  
Miyaiku gasped, then started coughing up the fluid from  
her lungs. She struggled to lift herself up but only made it to  
being on all four. She coughed up the remaining fluid as she  
started to catch her breath. Her head was still hanging down as  
she slowly opened her eyes. At first the light blinded her as  
she shielded her eyes. Then she tried again squinting till  
things started to focus themselves. She pushed herself up so  
she could be sitting on her knees. Her wet long hair clung to  
her drenched body.  
  
".........Wh.........where..........am I?" her voice was raspy as she looked  
again trying to make everything perfectly clear. She hugged  
herself to stop the shiver that ran up her body. She moved her  
hands to look at them when she felt her damp skin. Finally, her  
eyes regained their normal vision as she looked at the drops of  
greenish liquid on her hands.  
  
" What is.........oh, that's right." She looked down at the  
greenish pool of liquid she was laying in " Lifestream"  
  
// Good morning sunshine//  
  
Miyaiku jumped at voice but quickly came back to her  
senses.  
  
/ Is it morning already? Did I drink that much last  
night? Damn, I need to learn to hold my liquor/  
  
Aeris' giggling rang through Miyai's mind.  
  
// You sounded like someone I knew//  
  
Miyai smirked. She stood up, wobbling at first but  
eventually won the struggle. She looked around becoming  
transfixed by the scenery. She was standing on a crystal altar  
in the middle of the clearest water she has ever seen. Around  
her was what looked like tiny Arabian houses, splashed in shades  
of pink, purple, and grey. Above her was a long majestic  
staircase of light suspending in midair.  
  
/ Holy shit! This place is amazingly beautiful!/  
  
// Heehee, it's part of the City of the Ancients//  
  
/ The City-wait a minute.........this place. This place is  
where you died wasn't it?/  
  
// Yes.........//  
  
/ Oh, I'm sorry Aeris, that was inconsiderate of me/  
  
// Don't worry about it. I'm surprised at how observant  
you are with your surroundings, yet you still haven't noticed  
that you're completely naked//  
  
" Huh?" Miyai looked down to see her body fully exposed.  
She flushed brightly. " BY THE GODS, I'M NAKED!!"  
  
She quickly scrambles to cover herself up, but to no  
avail. She sat down covering her breasts with her knees and  
tightly wrapping her arms around her knees.  
  
" Why didn't you make me some clothes?!" She was still  
very red in the face " Damnit, I'm suppose to save the world  
here, but I can't get that done if I'm butt-freaking- naked!"  
  
// Calm down Miyaiku, no one's here and there's a chest  
upstairs with some old clothes in it//  
  
" You'll have to beam me up there because I'm not moving  
from t his spot." Miyai snorted " 'Sides, there's guy  
Cetra.........they could be watching me and stuff........."  
  
// Miyaiku! Get off your butt and get moving! We aren't  
your maids!//  
  
A sudden shock of electricity zapped Miyai in the ass.  
She squeaks as she jumps up rubbing her ass.  
  
Aeris whistles.// Nice tushy there Miyai!//  
  
" Shut up!" Miyai snapped and Aeris laughs. " Did anyone  
ever tell you, you were a bitch?"  
  
// Hmm.........I think Tifa thought I was one at times when I  
was getting Cloud's attention, but no, no one has ever told me I  
was one//  
  
Miyai walked over to the edge of the altar and hopped down  
onto a pillar  
  
/ Well then, let me be the first. You're a bitch/  
  
Miyaiku made her way up to the stairs, sighed for a second  
and then started climbing them.  
  
Zack hated speeches. He hated making them as much as  
listening to them, especially when old man Heidegger was  
preaching. He would go on and on about the joy of being part of  
the Shinra glory. Many people after awhile start to ignore him,  
but these were newbie Shinra troopers that didn't know any  
better. Zack sighs as he runs his hand through his hair and  
came upon a knot.  
  
/ I hate my hair/  
  
Zack was popular among the Shinra troops and Soldier. His  
cheerful personality has made him liked among the top people,  
like President Shinra. He even made friends with the General  
Sephiroth himself. It amazed people how he managed to pull that  
one off. Sephiroth's a block of ice. He never lets anyone see  
any emotion in him or lets someone get close to him. Zack was  
persistent though. His charisma finally broke down Sephiroth's  
resilient barriers. Of course when he did that, he found out a  
lot of things you wouldn't think about Sephiroth. Yes, it is  
flattering to be LIKED by an angelic god such as Sephiroth.  
Zack knew he had the looks, the charm, a body to die for that  
men drooled over, but he didn't swing that way.........fully. Ok, ok,  
so he kinda likes Sephiroth, but he rather have him as a friend.  
Besides, he wants to be single so he can get friendly with all  
the hot chicks in Midgar. He's very famous among the new girls,  
but infamous among the old. Sometimes, he'll just be walking  
down the street one day, and a woman would come out of nowhere  
and slap him without a word. It's not his fault he couldn't  
remember their names the morning after. How was he suppose to  
keep track when he already had five lined up and waiting for  
some Zack lovin'? That wasn't all he was good at either.  
  
/ Make it stop, please, make him shut up/  
  
Some of the people saw Zack's impatience and snickered.  
Zack made Soldier just a few months ago. He'd finally made it  
after a year of boring grunt stuff. If he hadn't needed to do  
the basics, he would already have been in Soldier because he's  
so good. Even Sephiroth thinks so. He was sixteen and already  
skilled with a sword. A buster sword in fact. His body was  
also already fit for a Soldier when he arrived here. Nice  
muscular tone, but not over done, with just the right height.  
Let's not forget his cobalt blue eyes, nice smile, and handsome  
face under that wild black hair of his. He was Mr.  
Perfect.........and being injected with mako improved it more.  
  
"..........And now, ladies and gentlemen, let's go so you can  
start your journey to a new and better life" Heidegger  
concluded.  
  
" It's about freaking time old man."  
  
Everyone looked at Zack. Zack looked up and noticed the  
stares and Heidegger's glare.  
  
" Oh, did I say that out loud? Sorry, my bad" Zack smiled  
stupidly as he scratched his head.  
  
Laughter bursted from the crowd as Heidegger looked like  
he was about to kill him.  
  
" What?" Zack played stupid.  
  
" Get moving Zack." Heidegger shoved him to start moving  
back to their bus.  
  
" Let's go people!" A trooper shouted " Start loading the  
buses!"  
  
People started getting onto the buses. Zack refused to  
get on the bus just yet. He wanted to stay around and check the  
girls out. As the crowd started thinning he noticed a person  
with beautiful gold locks that was in a pony tail. The person's  
back was to him. Thinking it was a girl for the fact the person  
was very short and kinda feminine looking, he decided he'd go  
hit on the girl. Poor Cloud didn't even notice a horny Soldier  
was coming up to him. All he was doing was putting his CD  
player back in his bag when a shadow loomed over him. Cloud  
sighed as he waited for the insults.  
  
" What's wrong my little goldielocks? Nervous?" Zack  
smiled " If it helps I could help soothe those nerves of yours."  
  
Now Cloud was use to being hit on by dumbass guys, but  
that was the worst pick up line he's ever heard.  
  
" Whadaya say sexy?" Zack placed his hand on Cloud's  
shoulder.  
  
Now Zack was really surprised when the boy turned around  
to face him, revealing to Zack that he just hit on a guy.........a  
rather cute guy. He was even more surprised when the boy's foot  
met his Mr. Happy. Zack grabbed his crotch as he fell to his  
knees in pain. Cloud picked up his bag and calmly walked away  
from Zack.  
  
" Good luck sucker with trying to score tonight." Cloud  
grinned as he got on the bus.  
  
" Oh, they're gonna make fun of me for this one." Zack  
cringed in pain.  
  
Miyaiku managed to find the chest containing some Ancient  
clothes. She got lost wondering around the city because was  
mesmerized by the scenery. So Aeris helped her find her way  
while making fun of her. Miyai came out of the seashell house  
but she still didn't look happy.  
  
/ Um, Aeris?/  
  
// Yeeesss?//  
  
/ Um, this is, um going to attract a lot of attention/  
  
// It's still clothes. It is better than nothing isn't  
it?//  
  
/ Yes.........but........./  
  
// But what?//  
  
" It's a fucking toga!" Miyai shouted  
  
Indeed, she was wearing a short, white, roman type toga  
made for a queen.  
  
// What did you expect? No one's been here since the time  
of the Cetra. Back then, they wore stuff like that//  
  
/ See, the thing is, this ISN'T back then! I'm goin' to  
stand out like crazy! And have you guys ever heard of  
underwear?!/  
  
// Miyai, just wear this until you can buy some clothes at  
a town. And here, take these materia with you//  
  
Eight pieces of materia floated down from the sky and  
stopped right infront of Miyai. One was blue, six were green,  
and one was red. She inspected them closely and realized they  
were mastered.  
  
" They're mastered!" Miyai grabbed a green one.  
  
// If things get ugly, we want you prepared//  
  
" Full cure........." She marveled at it.  
  
Where she came from, the materia stopped working. They  
had to rely solely on weapons to save them. And when someone  
was hurt or something, they had to do good ol' fashion first-  
aid.  
  
// You have full cure, ultima, time, heal, life, comet,  
quadra, and bahamut zero//  
  
" Oh wow, cool." Miyai was like a child in a candy store  
as she greedily grabbed them and placed them in her pouch she  
found with the clothes. " Where'd you get these?"  
  
// You don't need to worry about that//  
  
" K, so what about some gil?"  
  
// Sorry, but you'll have to get that on your own//  
  
" Great, guess I'll be wearing this damn toga for awhile."  
Miyai sighed " 'Least I don't need a sword or anything to fight  
off the monsters. I can do it with my fists.........although I prefer  
a sword........."  
  
// Sorry, can't give you that either//  
  
/ Damn, worth a shot/  
  
// Listen, there's a village not too far from here.  
You'll have to go through the Sleeping Forest to get there.  
Don't worry, you won't need the lunar harp to pass. Once you're  
there you'll-//  
  
/ You'll what?/  
  
Silence  
  
/ Great, something probably happened. Guess I'm on my own  
now for awhile. Well let's get goin Miyai/  
  
Miyai headed on her way to find the entrance to the  
forest.  
  
Cloud slid his keycard to activate the door. The machine  
beeped and the door slid open. Ah, he was finally here. After  
an hour of being lost, he was finally in his room.  
  
/ Damn those bastards for tricking me/  
  
When Cloud arrived at the front desk, the lady checked him  
in, gave him his card and told him his room was 38B, on the 30th  
floor. Well when he got to the floor, he found out that this  
floor was 1-38C, not 1-38B. That sucked, but he realized he  
wasn't the only one given the wrong floor. The secretary was  
new and hadn't learned her floors yet. So, he asked these  
couple of Soldiers and they told him to go to the 31st floor.  
So he goes there..........wrong floor. Those fuckers tricked him.  
Great, he's on his own then. He traveled floor to floor when it  
him. The letters kept goin up each floor he ascended. Ok, that  
must mean the 29th floor was his. He goes there but finds out,  
that this floor was just a big lounge area. 'Least he found  
that. Finally, someone was NICE enough to tell him to go down  
one more floor. 28th floor it is. But the numbers weren't on  
the doors since the doors were getting repainted and there were  
no signs to tell him where to go. He tried counting them but  
when 38B ended up being the janitor's closet, he gave up and  
decided to slide the card to every room. For him, it was the  
last room on the floor. Cloud sighed as he dragged himself and  
bag across the floor. The room was actually two rooms  
connected. The first room, was the study/living room. It was  
small, with just a TV, couch, phone, desk and chair, and a side  
table. In the second room, there were two sets of bunk beds  
with the bottom of the lower beds being drawers, a dresser with  
mirror, two nightstands, and a closet. The room felt  
uncomfortably small and cramped. He dragged himself into the  
bedroom. It looks like his roommates were already here. Each  
of their stuff claimed their bed. Doesn't look like Cloud has  
much choice as to where he'll be sleeping. He threw his stuff  
onto the empty lower bunk bed and plopped down on his new bed.  
  
/ Man, I'm starting to wonder which place is better. Here  
or Nibelheim?/  
  
Cloud bounced on his bed twice and frowned.  
  
/ One thing's for sure. I'm goin' to miss my old bed a  
lot/  
  
He couldn't think for long because the new recruit  
ceremony would start in twenty minutes and he needed time to get  
lost again. He got up and headed out.  
  
Sephiroth loves Zack dearly. He's the only friend he's  
had. But boy does that dimwit talk too much. Here he was,  
trying to perfect his speech when Zack comes barging in, ranting  
on and on about how his friends just wouldn't stop making fun of  
him for being kicked in the balls by a tiny little blonde boy.  
It was amusing, but he could have at least waited until after  
the ceremony. He rubbed his forehead. He needs some pain  
killers. Lots and lots of them.  
  
" I mean come on, the boy looked like a girl from behind,  
how was I suppose to know?" Zack paced the floor.  
  
" Maybe you should have thought with your brain and not  
with your dick." Sephiroth opened up a drawer " Of course, with  
your thoughts, I don't know if there would be any difference."  
  
" Ha ha, very funny Seph" Zack said sarcastically.  
  
" I know, wasn't it?" he smirked as he closed the drawer /  
No aspirin there/  
  
Zack sat on the corner of Seph's desk " You're cruel  
sometimes you know that?"  
  
"Been told that several times, but don't care" Seph opened  
up another drawer  
  
" At least you've lightened up a bit" Zack said " You use to be  
colder than ice itself."  
  
Sephiroth couldn't help that. Since he was young, he was  
never allowed to feel any emotions. Hojo wanted him to be the "  
fight all, care none" type person. He wasn't even allowed to  
have any friends because Hojo told him it would weaken him.  
Emotions were for the weak. In time, Sephiroth became that  
person Hojo wanted him to be. A perfect Soldier. One who did  
without thinking twice. He was fine with it although in the  
back of his mind, he felt lonely. But without having parents to  
show him love, and no friends to help him socializing, he just  
stayed away from people and burry himself in fighting and  
paperwork. When he became general, it kept him from people most  
time of the time anyway. But when he was in Wutai, leading the  
war, he met Zack. Zack was only a grunt then, and being like  
most people, idolized Sephiroth. He didn't mind being googlely  
eyed over by people at first, but over time, it got annoying.  
He would walk down the halls and people would move aside with  
twinkles in their eyes but too afraid to come up to him. But not  
Zack, no, Zack wouldn't leave him alone. Zack tried to make  
friends with everyone, especially with the ladies. Sephiroth  
knew about Zack before he even introduced himself. He annoyed  
Sephiroth A LOT at first. His persistence drove him insane.  
Eventually Seph gave up started talking back to him. It felt  
great talking to the dumbass. He didn't feel lonely. They  
quickly became friends. When Zack became a Soldier, they kept  
each other company more frequent. One day it smacked Seph in  
the face. Not only did he like his new friend, but he really,  
REALLY liked his friend. The thing is, he liked that feeling,  
made him even happier. Of course Zack bluntly rejected him. It  
hurt, but over time, he now rather have Zack around as just a  
friend or it would be nothing at all. At least he knows he  
can like someone like that.  
  
/ Ah, ha! Found some!/  
  
Sephiroth found an aspirin bottle and pooped some pills in  
his mouth.  
  
" Um, Seph, you just swallowed eight pills"  
  
"So?" Sephiroth threw the empty bottle in the trash "  
Normal dosages don't affect me. You should know that by now."  
  
" Oh, riiiiight" Light bulb clicked on in Zack's head  
  
" Now, if you'll excuse me, I NEED to finish my speech"  
  
" Right, bye Seph!" Zack waved as he quickly left  
  
" Yeah, bye." He waved as he continued to write.  
  
When the door shut, Seph dropped his pen on the desk and  
put his arms behind his head as leaned back in his chair. Did  
he forget to mention how annoying Zack could be?  
  
Miyaiku stood at the gate to the Midgar slums. She finally made  
it. 


	4. Chapter 3

Sorry it took so long, but I have severe writer's block. I might also be getting a life soon if I get the damn job. If not I'll just stay here and become a more obsessed rabid fangirl. Not like it's a bad thing really..........*cries* I want my ffvii-2: advent children to come out now!!! But enough of that, I hope all my fans out there continue to read this wonderful story of mine and review. Otherwise I'll kill you all! Mwahahahahahaha! *starts hopping around* Oh, and I might change the rating to R because I think it's getting there. Enjoy! P.S. Should have done this earlier but eh. I do not own ffvii or its contents. If I did, I'd be living a very happy life right now.........damn squaressoft.  
  
" Man, it's about freakin' time I got here. It's almost night time." Miyai looked at the sunset.  
  
She was mesmerized by the way the hues of red and orange encased the sun, with the dark purple clouds lingering near by. It was a picturesque view.  
  
" It was a rare site for me to see a sunset in my time." Miyai looked back at the gate. " But these people here in the slums look like they never get a chance to see the sky. I mean look at this gate. Can we say prison?"  
  
Miyai went over and sat down on a large rock. She removed her bag from her shoulder. Her stomach growled.  
  
" Ooh, come on, I just ate a couple of hours ago. Stupid stomach."  
  
Her stomach growled again.  
  
" Yeah well I hate you too."  
  
The archeologists of Bone Village were scared silly when Miyai exited the Sleeping Forest. After all, she was dressed like a Cetra and she went through the forest without the Lunar Harp. She finally got a ride on a cargo ship after convincing them she really wasn't an Ancient, nor a ghost of one. Well, she didn't really convince them, she just threatened to blast their asses away with ulitma if they didn't stop asking so many damn questions. She got dropped off at the shore near Kalm, since they were headed to Junon and she was getting fed up with all the stares and whispers. She didn't leave empty handed though. Nah, Miyai made sure left with their money as a parting gift. She thanks her mom for that skill. Yep, and the first thing she bought when she reached Kalm, were some clothes. Right now, she's wearing a white T-shirt, cargo shorts, hiking boots, and definitely underwear and a bra. Miyai prefers boyish clothes or Wutain traditional clothing over girlish clothes. She bought several outfits and then went to the bar/diner. Since she would be traveling to Midgar on foot because there's no cars or chocobos in the town, she only ordered all the main courses. What? She hasn't had any real food in years. The cook reluctantly obliged. It took her only thirty minutes to eat, so Miyai she quickly went to the weapons shop and got a simple staff to off fight monsters and annoying people. They didn't have a murasme or yoshiyuki like she wanted, but she can manage until Midgar. She hates to rely on magic all the time anyway.  
  
" 'Least I made it here in one piece." Miyai opened up a canister she bought and drank some water " Well, time to get movin'."  
  
Miyai shoved the canister back in the bag, flung the bag over her shoulder, and got up. She walked over to the gate and pushed on it hard. It didn't budge.  
  
" Fuck, it's locked." Miyai snorted " Do things have to be that difficult for me?"  
  
She took a few steps back to observe the gate and fence. It was connected to the bottom of the plate. No climbing over then. She looked around some more. No holes and the fence was barb wired.  
  
" Damn, they really didn't want the people leaving did they?" Miyai went back up to the door " Well then, guess I'll just have to force my way in."  
  
She cracked her knuckles and proceeded to push on the door.  
  
/ Maybe if I could just push it open a little, I can get in./  
  
The door started to creek and groan. Dents started to form where Miyai's hands were. She gritted her teeth as she applied more pressure. She could feel the door move very slowly as the lock broke. Her feet were starting to lose traction. When she pushed one more time, there was a loud groan as metal was snapping. Miyai quickly moved back as the door fell forward somewhat. There was another loud metal snap and the door came lose from its hinges. It wailed as it fell forward and crashed onto the ground with loud boom that shook the ground. Dust and dirt billowed out covering Miyai. She closed her eyes, coughing and waving the dust away from her. When the dust settled, Miyai looked at what she did. Her jaw hit the ground while her eyes grew wide.  
  
" Oh fucking hell........."  
  
She looked around seeing if anyone saw her or heard it. No one was around, but they would be coming.  
  
" Run!" Miyai hide tailed it out of there.  
  
Cloud didn't care about the blonde, skimpy dressed bimbo that was making a speech up on stage. Nor did he care when President Shinra or the others preached. He did slightly pay attention to the little snake-like scientist with beady, little eyes with glasses and greasy, black hair tied back. He listened to the guy because he looked like a psycho doctor waiting to make the audience his guinea pigs. That look in his eyes worried Cloud. He hopes he doesn't have any run-ins with Prof. Hojo in the future. Other than Hojo, Cloud was only paying attention to one other person, Sephiroth. When Cloud entered the auditorium, he noticed right away the silver haired angel in black. He's seen a poster in the halls with Sephiroth on it, but that was nothing compared to this. Cloud sat in the back so he wouldn't be seen, hopefully, staring at the majestic, god-like being. His long, silver hair drapes down his body while outlining his face. Sculpted to perfection. And those eyes! Glowing green eyes shaped like a cat's. They look intimidating even with that bored look on his face. No wonder he's never lost a battle. He could just strike his foes down with a death glare. His skin looks slightly pale, but who cares? It looks so soft that you wanna just touch it. Oh and his wardrobe looks so cool. Black leather with armored plates on his shoulders. And that muscular chest makes Cloud jealous. He wants to be strong, feared, and respected just like Sephiroth.  
  
/ And then, those people back in Nibelheim will notice me.........and so will she./  
  
Sephiroth snapped out of his boredom state when he realized someone was looking at him. He looked out and around the crowd and noticed blonde spikes with blue eyes staring at him in awe.  
  
/ Hmmm.........?.........hey, is that the boy Zack was talking about? He looks rather.........weak/  
  
Cloud popped his awe bubble when he noticed his perfect idol was watching him. He turned beat red and quickly looked away.  
  
/ Holy shit! He's looking right at me! Oh god I'm such an idiot! He must think I'm just a little boy who wishes could be something he'll never be! I'm so stupid!/  
  
Sephiroth smirked when he noticed Cloud was trying to avoid eye contact with him.  
  
/ Hahaha, poor boy's embarrassed. Better stop looking at him or he might kill over.........but he is rather cute in a way./  
  
" And now ladies and gentlemen, I would now like to present our next speaker, Shinra's finest, the Great General Sephiroth!" Scarlet show cased Sephiroth.  
  
Everyone clapped as Sephiroth stood up.  
  
/ Wow, he's pretty tall too. I wonder how old he is?/  
  
Sephiroth was about to make his way up to the podium when something struck him, freezing him in step.  
  
/ Wha-what was that- aaaaaaaahhh!/  
  
Sephiroth grabbed his head as he fell to his knees. Something was rushing through his mind and body. It was hurting him.  
  
/ What's going on?!/  
  
He could hear voices. Many voices. Were they the people around him? They must be, they sound distant and jumbled up together. But there was this other voice. A female voice. It was inside him. He could barely here her, but it hurts when she screams. He can't see anything either. It's all black. He feels something though, something cold touching him.  
  
/ Kill her!!!/  
  
Sephiroth's body went ridged and he falls over unconscious.  
  
The people finally left the Sector 5 gate area after shinra guards came and shooed them away. Miyaiku checked to see if the area was clear and then jumped down in front of a run-down church.  
  
/ Man, it's freakin' dirty around here. How do these people manage to stay alive down here?/ Miyai dusted herself off.  
  
A sweet auroma suddenly engulfed Miyai. She sniffed the air.  
  
/ Is that.........flowers I smell?/  
  
Miyai turned around.  
  
/ It's coming from here/  
  
Miyai put her hands on the church doors to open it but stopped.  
  
/ Someone's in there. I feel it.........very soothing too. Huh? Is that humming?/  
  
Miyai put her ear to the door. It was a soft feminine humming. Then it struck her. She quickly took a step back and looked the church over.  
  
( Miyaiku and Aeris were sitting in the field of flowers. Miyai picked a flower and sniffed it.  
  
" Lilies are my favorite flowers. I don't know why but I always was fonder of them than any other type. In a way, their white petals and green stems remind me of Holy and the Lifestream together." Aeris said  
  
" Did you grow them when you were alive?"  
  
" Oh yes, lots of them!" Aeris smiled " I grew them in my yard and in this ruined church. I'd grow them and sell them. I was known as the flower girl."  
  
" Geez Aeris, you probably could have grown flowers anywhere. I bet you could have grown one out of my head."  
  
" Yes I could have!" Aeris giggled.  
  
Miyai joined in the laughter.)  
  
/ So this is your church, Aeris.........You really are an angel aren't you?/  
  
" Well, well, well, looky at what we got here."  
  
Miyai quickly turned around. Her eyes narrowed as a person stepped out from behind a rusted, beat-up, old car.  
  
/ Grrrreaaaat, just what I need. A punkass./  
  
The guy was tall with messy brown hair and green eyes with a scar under his left eye. He had a hoop ring in his nose and eyebrow. His clothes were torn, faded, and dirty. And when he grinned, it revealed several silver teeth.  
  
" What do you guys think?" The guy asked  
  
/ Oh, there are two more assholes. Go me./  
  
" She sure is yummy looking." A short, fat, red headed, freckled faced guy came out from behind a pile of junk. " Kinda boyish looking, but her face and legs look hot. And her eyes........."  
  
Miyai just stood there not phased by this pathetic attempt to scare her.  
  
" The glow" Another guy jumped down and landed beside the other two. He had black hair, brown eyes, tan skin, and fairly new clothes on. Must have stolen them.  
  
" I heard about people having glowing eyes. They live up on the plate and work for Shinra. What were they called?" The fat guy looked up at the leader.  
  
" Who cares, this one's not gonna get a chance to make it back up there." The leader said.  
  
" Yeah but, I think those people are like Shinra's killing machines. I think they're called-"  
  
" Would you guys just shut up?!" Miyai snapped from waiting too long " Were you just waiting for me to kick your asses or were you trying to bore me to death first?!"  
  
" Shut yer hole, bitch!" The leader got into a fighting stance. The others did too.  
  
" Oh nice one." Miyai yawned as she stretched her arms. When she did that she grabbed her staff and pulled it out from the strap holding it to her back. " Shall we dance?"  
  
" Stupid slut, get her!" the leader ordered his men to attack her.  
  
" Aaaahh!" the two men charged.  
  
In a blink of an eye, Miyai's staff connected with the stomach of the tan guy. He coughed up blood. She quickly forced it upwards into his jaw, breaking it. The guy fell backwards as she twirled her staff above her head and slammed it down against the fat guy's head, cracking his skull open before he could even land a punch. He falls to her feet. The leader stood there petrified. Miyai looks at him.  
  
" Wanna try your luck?" She grinned.  
  
The leader squeaks and tries to run away.  
  
" Sorry, but that's not gonna save you!" Miyai charged after him.  
  
The guy didn't get far before her staff smashed across the side of his face, breaking the skull cavity in that area. He skids across the ground into a pile of scrap metal, knocking him unconscious. Miyai looked at all three guys. They were alive, severely hurt, but alive. She can feel it when someone dies.  
  
" All talk and no game make you a loser!" Miyai did a little happy victory dance " Prize time."  
  
She goes over to all three guys and checks them for gil. She only found a few gil.  
  
" Cheap bastards........." She pocketed the gil and headed for the Sector 5 slums town.  
  
Zack hates to worry. It makes him feel vulnerable, but he cares too much for people to stop it from happening. And when it comes to Sephiroth, the worry never stops. Hojo's to blame for it. He knows little about what Hojo does to Sephiroth but it's enough to piss him off. It would piss anyone off if their best friend was being used as an experimental toy. Nights when Zack would help a disoriented and sluggish Seph back to his apartment makes him so mad. He would kill that freak scientist if it didn't mean getting kicked out of Soldier and Shinra. The door opened and Zack walked in. Hojo was standing there reading his clipboard in front of a curtain. He looks up and twists his face into an evil grin.  
  
" Well hello Zack, how are-" He didn't get to finish hissing that sentence before Zack's fist introduced itself to his face.  
  
He could settle for being written up. He shoved aside a hurt Hojo and pushed back the curtain. Seph was sitting on the edge of a metal table with a cup of water. He was cloakless. Much goodness.  
  
" Nice show." Sephiroth said  
  
" Eh, it was bound to happen." Zack shrugged  
  
" Yeah........." Seph gave him a sheepish grin  
  
" So how you feeling?"  
  
" Like a million bucks."  
  
" Not that bad then huh?"  
  
" He'll be fine with some rest." Hojo stepped in wiping the blood from his broken nose. " He won't need your overbearing, motherly care tonight."  
  
" You know, I can settle for another demerit for breaking- "  
  
" Zack stop" Seph cut off Zack's threat " Let's just go."  
  
Zack glared as Hojo laughed devilishly. Sephiroth got to his feet and motioned Zack not to help when he was about to grab hold of him.  
  
" I can walk." Sephiroth set his cup down on the table " Where's my cloak?"  
  
" I'll get it." Zack turned to go get it.  
  
" Good boy. Next, you can fetch his slippers." Hojo sneered.  
  
Zack turned right back around and lunged at Hojo. Sephiroth grabbed Zack to restrain him.  
  
" Lemme go! He needs his ass kicked! Come on!" Zack struggled against Seph's hold  
  
" Don't waste your time on him Zack, it's not worth it" Sephiroth dragged him away.  
  
" So?!" Zack pouted.  
  
" Might wanna make sure you chain him to a pole tonight, boy." Hojo laughed.  
  
" Why you!" Zack tried to lunge at him again but Seph held onto the back of his shirt.  
  
Sephiroth grabbed his cloak and dragged Zack out of the room.........and Hojo just kept laughing his ugly head off. Outside the room, he let go of Zack.  
  
" Why'd you stop me?" Zack asked angerly.  
  
" Do you honestly want to waste your write ups on him?" Sephiroth questioned.  
  
Zack looked back at the room. He's still laughing. Zack looked back at Seph.  
  
" Yes."  
  
Sephiroth smiled as he rubbed his temple.  
  
" Don't you ever want to just rip his tiny, little, beady head off and kick it around?" Zack asked.  
  
" Yes, I have many ways to kill him that I thought of." Sephiroth mused. " But I can't."  
  
" Why not?"  
  
Sephiroth started walking, signaling Zack to follow beside him.  
  
" Because he's the only one that knows what goes on inside me." Sephiroth sighed softly but sadly.  
  
" What did happen to you?"  
  
Sephiroth stopped. He remembers. The darkness he saw, the throbbing pain in his head, the coldness.........the voice, her voice. It's not the first time he's heard that voice. Ever since he was little she would talk to him. Sometimes though, when she's angry, his head would throb with pain. It feels like a thousand needles pricking his brain. But this last incident was different. It was stronger and she said only one thing, "kill her".  
  
/ Kill who?/  
  
" Heeeelooooo, earth to Seph, come in Seph." Zack waved his hand infront of Seph's face.  
  
" Hmm?.........Oh, what?" Sephiroth snapped out of his thought bubble.  
  
" You were thinking about what happened weren't you?"  
  
" No."  
  
" Don't lie, you phased out right after I asked you."  
  
Sephiroth couldn't tell his best friend he was hearing voices. That would just make him worry more. Zack would never leave him alone then.  
  
" I had over exhausted myself from working too hard and I fainted."  
  
He knew Zack wouldn't fall for that ridiculous lie, but that's what he's getting as an answer.  
  
" Oh bullshit, don't lie. And if you're going to lie, make it believable."  
  
" Sorry, but that's my final answer. Take it or leave it."  
  
" Tch, fine." Zack pouted in defeat. " ?"  
  
Zack and Sephiroth turned around.  
  
" You can come out now, there's no need to hide." Zack said.  
  
From behind the corner, Cloud nervously stepped out. He looked like a scared little child.  
  
" Well hey there, if it isn't the kid that put me out of commission tonight." Zack smiled " How you doing?"  
  
Sephiroth just rolled his eyes. Zack's always in a positive mood even if he gets his ass kicked.  
  
" I'm fine." Cloud glared daggers at Zack.  
  
" Whoa, easy there kid, no need for the death stare."  
  
" Stop calling me kid, jackass."  
  
" Geez, I'm sorry, no need to be touchy now. I come in peace. And I'm really sorry about earlier."  
  
" I'm use to it."  
  
" I mean you really did look like a girl from-"  
  
" Zack, shut up" Sephiroth demanded.  
  
And so Zack shut up. Cloud smirked but became embarrassed when Sephiroth looked at him.  
  
" Did you want something or were you just going to follow us?" Sephiroth asked  
  
Cloud turned into a tomato and froze in fear.  
  
" Well?"  
  
The sharp edge in his voice made Cloud jump.  
  
" Um.........I um.........see I um, saw you black out and um, I uh followed him here because I uh..........I uh was wondering if you were feeling.........any better........." Cloud trailed off as he looked at the ground with his arms behind his back and making circles with his foot.  
  
That actually stunned Sephiroth. Other than Zack, no one really asks him how he's feeling. They just assume he's always okay.  
  
" Seph's fine, just a little spacey and tired tonight." Zack patted Seph on the back.  
  
" Spacey?" Sephiroth looked at him with annoyance.  
  
" What? You are" Zack said  
  
" That's nice that you're spacey-I mean fine. May I be excused?" Cloud didn't look at them.  
  
" Yeah go ahead." Sephiroth dismissed him, not really caring at this point.  
  
" Th-thank you." Cloud quickly bowed and hurried away.  
  
" Awww, look at him, he's so cute." Zack smiled  
  
Sephiroth gave him a questioning eye. Zack looked at him and it dawned on him.  
  
" Ah, shit. I said that out loud." Zack looked away blushing. " Um yeah, I'm going to leave now and um, sleep. Bye!"  
  
Sephiroth watched as Zack ran away. He knew Zack was actually chasing after the kid.  
  
" Welcome to Shinra Headquarters, how may I help you?" The receptionist greeted " Oh."  
  
Right when Miyaiku walked into the building, everybody's eyes immediately locked onto her. And now the receptionist is looking her over in bewilderment.  
  
/ So much for not sticking out./ Miyai sighed  
  
" Wow, I've never seen a female Soldier before. You look very pretty for one. I guess the girls still keep their physique after the enhancements. I thought they'd turn out like men except for the bottom half. And your eyes so beautiful. I mean they are so unusual looking, but enchanting at the same time. What class are you? And can I have your autograph?"  
  
".........Thanks, but I'm not a Soldier." Miyai just stared at her with a blank expression.  
  
Now that started the whispers and gasps.  
  
" Oh." The receptionist muttered in disappointment.  
  
" In fact, I'm here to join the Shinra army........." Miyai looked around at the crowd. / Mustn't kill stupid people, mustn't kill./  
  
" Aren't you a little late?" the receptionist asked  
  
" Sorry, I didn't think Shinra had a deadline for recruiting future killers of the world." Miyai shrugged.  
  
" Uhhhh no, it's just that all the ceremonies are over with and-"  
  
" That's fine. I'd just sleep through them or talk with the voices inside my head anyway."  
  
" Are you serious?"  
  
"What do you think?"  
  
"There you are!"  
  
Miyai turned around. A man in a nice navy blue suit was running up to her. His hair was long and black, and his face was clean shaven with a hint of Wutian in it.  
  
/ A Turk?/ Miyai looked at him. / And of Wutai decent?/  
  
" I have been looking all over for you cousin." The Turk placed his hand on her shoulder. " You need to stop wondering around so much."  
  
" What?" Miyai was confused "Cousin?"  
  
"Oh hello Mr. Tseng." The receptionist smiled.  
  
( " His name was Tseng.")  
  
/ Tseng.........hmmm/  
  
" Hello Claire, you're look ravishing this fine evening."  
  
" Why thank you Mr. Tseng."  
  
" Just excuse my dear cousin here, she's never been to Midgar before and she tends to get a little carried away in new places. She's a little detached in the head."  
  
" EXCUSE me?"  
  
" Oh, well that explains a lot. I hope none of those voices are like trying to make her kill people."  
  
" I don't hear voices like that you bitch."  
  
" Well it's time to go now!" Tseng started shoving Miyai towards the elevators " Let's go back to my office, ok?"  
  
" Hey wait!" Miyai protested  
  
" Stay beautiful Claire. Bye." He winked at Claire  
  
Claire blushed as she waved Tseng bye. Tseng parted the crowd as he shoved a resistant Miyai along the way. Tseng pushed the elevator door button and the doors opened. He shoved her in there, quickly got in and pushed the 10th floor button. The doors closed.  
  
"What's your problem Turk?" Miyai growled  
  
The elevator started moving.  
  
"So you know what I am." Tseng faced her "Well at least I don't need to explain that."  
  
"But that doesn't explain what you did back there. And what's with you calling me your cousin?"  
  
"Tell me, do you have any ID?"  
  
"No."  
  
" Not even a birth certificate either huh?"  
  
".........No."  
  
"And you wanted to join the army with no proof of who you are especially with how you look and act?"  
  
"So?"  
  
"Yeah, that lady would have called for the guards to come take you to jail or perhaps worse, Prof. Hojo."  
  
"I would kick all their asses."  
  
"Ah, but then they would send Sephiroth. Could you beat him too?"  
  
"............"  
  
"Didn't think so. I saw you fight once but that doesn't measure up to his skill."  
  
"So you were the one following me."  
  
"Yep, and I know you're the one that pushed that gate down too."  
  
"So why'd you help me back there?" Miyai quickly changed the subject.  
  
"People don't really question the Turks, so by saying you were my cousin, they won't think twice about it. Besides, I can help you get into the army."  
  
The elevator stopped and dinged  
  
"What's the catch?"  
  
"Ah, clever girl. Let's discuss this in my office, shall we?" Tseng gestured for her to go first as the doors opened.  
  
Cloud couldn't get away fast enough. The Soldier chased Cloud and nearly killed him when he tackled him. Of course Zack apologized while redirecting Cloud to the lounge area. There, Zack apologized for everything he's done and said to Cloud. Then he started talking about himself since Cloud wasn't, especially when Zack was trying to be discreet about checking him out, but failing. He's use too it. Guys hit on him all the time, although some thought he was a girl. It's nice though, in a very odd way, that people are paying attention to him now. When he first got on the plane at Nibelheim, he started getting hit on constantly. No one gave him that much thought back home except for when something bad happens and he becomes the scapegoat. Now look at him, a Third class Soldier was trying to be his friend or even more than that. And Cloud has a feeling Zack won't leave him alone until they are buddies. Then he got lucky, when Zack saw a cute girl he hasn't "introduced" himself to yet. So Cloud went back to his room.  
  
/ Life sucks./ Cloud slid his keycard.  
  
The door opened and the sweet smell of smoke and alcohol filled Cloud's nostrils.  
  
/People suck too. They REALLY suck./ Cloud sighed as he saw his drunk roommates play strip poker.  
  
Tseng had made Miyaiku an ID and birth certificate after much talking. Although Tseng knew she was lying to most of the questions, he didn't bother to catch her on it since he could just go do what Turks do to get information. 'Sides, it's much more fun that way. Since the war ended, there wasn't much for the Turks to do, except try capture the last remaining Ancient. Which they are failing miserably at. Now he can go play "researcher" on Miyaiku Valentine. If that's her real name.  
  
"So what's the deal?" Miyai asked  
  
"Ah, yes that." Tseng spun his chair around to face her " I haven't thought of anything yet."  
  
" Great." Miyai rolled her eyes "Let me guess, you'll let me know when you come up with something right?"  
  
He nodded.  
  
"Just so you know, I'm not gonna kill anyone for you. Nor will I harm or kidnap people. That goes with helping you with Aeris."  
  
Tseng looked slightly surprised.  
  
"Yeah, I know about the capturing the Ancient crap. President Shinra is full of shit if he thinks that she'll help the company find the Promised Land. This whole company's greed will be its downfall. And that's a fact."  
  
"If you hate Shinra, then why are you trying to be part of it?"  
  
"I'm trying to do a favor for someone." Miyai said / More like thousands of people./  
  
"I hope it's not trying to bring down the corporation now."  
  
"I wish, but no." Miyai headed for the door " I also wish I could kill the great Asshole, Sephiroth and someone else, but I can't do that either. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go join the army."  
  
Tseng couldn't tell if she was lying or not with that statement. He just watched her leave. Miyai walked down the hall to the elevator.  
  
/ I need to be careful around him. He knows I'm lying./ Miyai pushed the down button /And when he gets the chance, he'll go try and find information on me. And since there is no information on me in this time, he could make things pretty difficult for me./  
  
The elevator doors opened and she walked in and pushed for the 1st floor. The doors closed and it started going down. Miyai looked out at city below through the glass.  
  
/ I hope I can finish here first before anything stops me from completing the mission. But do I really want to help Cloud? He killed my parents and my friends. Why should I help him? I don't want to be here. I don't fit in and I'm alone. Can't I go back into the Lifestream and not be alone? I blame you for this too Cloud./  
  
The elevator stopped and the doors opened. Miyai walked out and once again was the center of attention. She tensed up, balled up her fists and walked back over to the reception desk.  
  
" Oh, hello again." Claire smiled. " Still want to join the army?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"May I see your ID and Birth Certificate please?"  
  
Miyai handed her the stuff. Claire took it and started typing on the computer. Miyai was starting to get anxious because the people just kept staring at her. And the stupid woman was taking so long.  
  
/You know this is making you look more suspicious to them, Miyaiku, so stop it. Think happy thoughts!/  
  
"Oh I'm sorry Ms. Valentine, there seems to be no more rooms available."  
  
"WHAT?!" Miyai exploded.  
  
Everyone was taken aback including Claire. Miyai started laughing nervously.  
  
"I'm so sorry about, heheh. I have random outbursts too. So what is this business with no more room?"  
  
"It's uh simple. All the rooms for the regulars are all filled up."  
  
"What about the Soldiers' rooms?"  
  
"Even if it was allowed, they are also filled up except-"  
  
"Except for one. I'll take it."  
  
"But it's not allowed without permission."  
  
"Look, I don't give a rat's ass. If the higher ups have a problem, then they can come drag me out from the room. But other than that, gimmethekeycard!"  
  
"Ok, but I'll warn you about your roommate. He's gonna be a very hard person to live with. Especially since you are a woman." Claire reached out to give her the keycard.  
  
"Eh, I'll take care of that." Miyai grabbed for the keycard but Claire snatched it back. " Hey!"  
  
"But first I need your picture taken for the files and then I need to take away your staff." Claire grinned pointing to a white background drop to her right.  
  
"Why my staff?" Miyai went over to the background drop and dumped her bag and staff.  
  
"Because no weapons are allowed in the rooms. Even in the Soldiers' rooms." Claire went over to the camera that was a few feet infront of Miyai. " Smile."  
  
The camera light flashed right as Miyai flicked off the camera.  
  
"Great, I bet the commanders will love that one." She took Miyai's staff and handed her the keycard.  
  
"Good. That way I can make them laugh before I piss them off." Miyai grabbed the keycard and her bag. "What room and floor?"  
  
" 14D, 31st floor."  
  
"Thanks. See ya." Miyai headed for the elevators again  
  
"Good Luck!" Claire waved  
  
Miyai got into the elevator. The people that were already in it, scooted back away from her. Miyai laughed as the doors closed. When she got to the 31st floor, he Soldiers that were out in the halls stopped and stared at her as she made her way through them. She calmly walked by the gazing Soldiers.  
  
/Ah! Here it is!/ She looked at the door in front of her./ 14D. Wasn't so hard to find./  
  
The Soldiers crowded behind her as she slid her keycard. The door slides open  
  
" Oh.........Shit........."  
  
Oh yes! I finished typing up this chapter! My poor hands! 


	5. Note

Hi everyone. I have come to a decision to take down my story. Since I only have 2 reviews I don't if anyone else likes this story and I don't have any motivation to keep typing it up. Sides, I have it in my head for me to enjoy it so I don't need it up here really unless you guys want it. And my computer's tearing up. I don't know how long it'll last. Well, anyway, if you want it to stay review it. If not, I'm takin it down at the end of this week. Man, I sound rude. Sorry.  
  
-Chibi 


	6. Another stupid note

Hello again. Well, since I still have a few fans out there, I'll keep the story up. But when I put up the first part of ch. 4, the rating will change to R to be on the safe side. Probably mainly for language, violence, later gore(very later in the story). Even though there will be shounen-ai, there won't be any yaoi for those who are looking for some or think shounen- ai and yaoi mean the same thing. But anyway, when I'm unlazy enough, ch. 4 part 1 will be up soon. Oh! And if you feel like it, review. Enjoy this note until next time.  
  
-Chibi 


	7. Chapter4:Part1

Sorry this took so long. This part just wouldn't end! The next part is following cloud through his first day at shinra. I split it up like that cuz otherwise this part would never end. I would die while typing it up. But anyway, thanks for the reviews and yes e-chan5 you can. Also you'll notice when I start getting lazy with some parts. Enjoy! A/N: sorry again, but I just went and fixed some things in all the chapters so I can make things fit for the later chapters and errors that I caught. I totally forget half to this story so I had to go read it! But anyway, the second half is coming along painfully slow for me. In fact, as much as I love Cloud, I hate having to focus mainly on him. Especially at this point since he's not around anyone. I get by by picking on him. Ok, I'm gonna shut up cuz I'll save my other stuff for the other half.  
  
Chapter 4: Part I  
  
A minute passed by with just only silence. Miyaiku's facial expression was of complete shock as she stood outside the opened door.  
  
"Um.........hi?" Zack scratched his head, unsure of what to do at this point.  
  
Zack was standing there in only boxers. Not just boxers, smiley face boxers. Oh yeah, gotta have the smilies. Yep, Zack was playing air guitar to some heavy metal music in only his boxers. Since he has no roommate, he can do whatever he wants and no one can stop him. That is, until now. Claire, the receptionist, called him and warned him that his new roommate was coming up. She told him that the person was a new girl cadet with a bad temper, who without permission has decided to room with him. Zack freaked out, dropped the phone, and jumped over to his stereo to turn it off. Unfortunately that was all he was able to do before the door opened. At that time, he knew Claire purposely told him at the last possible second since she was still mad at him for the other day. Now the two stand here with a nice crowd of third and second class Soldiers watching. And yet, the girl still didn't make a sound so he decided to try something else.  
  
"If you like what you see now, you can always see the whole package back in the chamber of love." Zack leaned on the doorway with that stupid cheesy grin.  
  
It wasn't the best choice, but it worked. Upon hearing that, Miyaiku growled and with lightning speed, punched him in the mouth. Zack fell to his ass, holding his mouth. The crowd gasped as Miyai stood there shaking her hand calmly. It actually hurt her fist, which hardly happens.  
  
"What the hell was that for?!" Zack exclaimed./ And why the hell didn't I sense it?!/  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry. I though I heard an asshole speaking to me." Miyai looked at her knuckles. "Huh, I think I just bruised my knuckles. That's new."  
  
Zack got up, spitting the blood out from his mouth, and then wiping his mouth with his hand.  
  
"Geez, you didn't have to go and do that. A simple no would have been just fine."  
  
"Well, let's just say this is a 'no' to any future attempts to get me to sleep with you, ok?"  
  
"Awww, you're no fun."  
  
"I'm not here for fun. Now let me in." Miyai shoved him aside and walked in.  
  
Zack looked at the crowd, flashed a "oh yeah" smile while giving them a thumbs up, and closed the door. The crowd mumbled and groaned in disappointment as they disband. Zack turned to Miyai, who was looking around at what was suppose to be the living room.  
  
"Nice.........place........." Miyai sadly looked at the piles of junk everywhere. "Least I know I'll be making friends with the roaches........."  
  
"Why do your eyes glow?" Zack bluntly asked.  
  
She froze. She knew this was coming but never thought of an answer for it. How was she suppose to answer that anyway?  
  
"And you smell like you showered in mako."  
  
That she didn't know. How many other people noticed that?  
  
/ Man, I'm a walking attraction. Complete with blinking neon signs. I'm just asking to get caught./  
  
"Well?" Zack walked infront of her with his arms crossed.  
  
"I........." Miyai was trying to think of an answer.  
  
( "Mako poisoning.")  
  
/ That's right........./  
  
( "He fell into the lifestream.........mako poisoning from exposure of a high concentration of mako.........")  
  
"I'm waiting. I won't lest you live here unless I know. I don't want no trouble or anything."  
  
"I don't remember what happened, but I know I was exposed to a lot of mako because I suffered from mako poisoning."  
  
"You don't remember?"  
  
"Some villagers told me they found me unconscious. I was alone when it happened." Miyai lowered her head in fake despondency./ I hope he buys it./  
  
"Yeah.........you probably fell into the lifestream when it bursted through the earth's surface. There have been reports of it happening. I'm sorry you had to suffer from it. I shouldn't have brought it up." Zack apologized.  
  
"Oh no! That's ok really! I would have asked too if I was afraid that it might cause trouble. You never nowadays. Haha!" Miyai was relieved. / Stupid idiot./  
  
"May I ask you another question?" Zack asked.  
  
"Sure."  
  
"Are you Wutaian?"  
  
"Half Wutaian."  
  
"Oh."  
  
".........why?"  
  
"Because of the Shinra-Wutai war. Shinra won and all but there's still hostility in the air between them. Shinra's afraid of any rebel attacks by them and all. You should know this."  
  
She sighs,/ I forgot about that war/ "I do not have any relatives in Wutai. My mother and my aunt moved away from Wutai long before the war. My mom met my father, who was from Kalm, got married, settled in Mideel, and had me. We lived happily ever after. The end. Any more questions?"  
  
Zack laughed. "Nah, that's about it."  
  
Miyaiku just rolled her eyes.  
  
"By the way, I'm Zack Delenger, Soldier Third Class. Nice to meet you." Zack stuck out his hand.  
  
FLASH  
  
("Zachery Delenger, Soldier First Class.")  
  
FLASH  
  
("He was my best friend.........")  
  
FLASH  
  
("He was my first boyfriend.........but then he suddenly disappeared on a mission.")  
  
FLASH  
  
("We went to Nibelheim together with Sephiroth.........")  
  
FLASH  
  
("Never heard from him.........just like he vanished into thin air.........")  
  
FLASH  
  
("He went to stop Sephiroth, but.........")  
  
FLASH  
  
("I was worried.")  
  
FLASH  
  
("Hojo found us.........and for five years.........")  
  
FLASH  
  
("Years passed without him here.........I hoped he would come back to me.........")  
  
FLASH  
  
("He was shot down by Shinra troopers.........Of all people, his life was taken away.........and I lived on in his name.")  
  
"Um.........are you ok?" Zack was worried./ Why'd she phase out all of a sudden?/  
  
Miyaiku shook her head and then looked at Zack. He looked concerned.  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry." Miyai said. "I'm Miyaiku Valentine, but people call me Miyai for short."  
  
They shook hands.  
  
"I thought you were in Solider First Class?"  
  
"Haha, I wish! But I'm just third class. Only made it just a few months ago! Did my sexy, muscular body throw you off?"  
  
".........yeah.........that's it........."  
  
"Ah yes, I knew you were attracted to me. Every woman is. You're welcome to try me out anytime. No one can resist my charm for long." Zack winked.  
  
/ Oh, I wish I was still dead now./ Miyai sighed.  
  
"Well, I would give you a tour but there's not much to this place." Zack wrapped his arm around her shoulders.  
  
She just looked at the dangling arm in annoyance.  
  
"Yep, this is the living room, and that's the bedroom." Zack pointed. "You'll have to remove the stuff off your bed in order to sleep in it or you could always join me in my bed."  
  
"Do you cherish your arm?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Then remove it before I rip it off and beat you with it."  
  
Zack quickly removed his arm.  
  
"Thank you, now where's the bathroom?"  
  
"There isn't one."  
  
"Don't tell me it's a public bath?"  
  
"Well yeah.........but just for men."  
  
"Where the fuck is the women's bath then?! Don't tell me there's no women's bath!"  
  
"Not on this floor atleast. There's never been a female Soldier before so there's been no need to make bathroom for them. You'll have to go down to the cadet housing floors to take a shower."  
  
"Ah fucking hell........."  
  
"Here I'll get dressed and show you where it is."  
  
"I don't wanna know how you know that."  
  
"Hey now, it wasn't like that. I use to be a cadet ya know." Zack walked to the bedroom. "Give me a sec, ok?"  
  
"Sure."  
  
Sounds of scuffling could be heard from the bedroom. Miyai looked down and saw an old pizza box lying there.  
  
"I'm starting to wonder about living here." She kicked the box. "The fucking hole in the mountain was even better than this place."  
  
"Ok, I'm ready." Zack emerged from the room wearing grey sweats.  
  
"Have you ever heard of cleaning?" Miyai asked sarcastically "It can do wonders to your place."  
  
"What me? Cleaning? It's not my style." Zack picked up a pile of clothes. "'Sides, this adds character."  
  
He drops them back on the floor.  
  
"If you want neat and clean, you should live with Seph."  
  
"Seph?" Miyai raised an eyebrow.  
  
"That's my nickname for Sephiroth."  
  
Miyai paled "S-Sephiroth?"  
  
"We're best friends." Zack didn't notice the change in her expression as he headed for the door. "Actually, I'm his only friend. He has stick up his ass a lot of the times but once you know him, he's a great person."  
  
"Does he come here?" She was trying to keep calm but she was still nervous.  
  
"No, he hates the mess. Can't stand it." He looks back at her. "Why?"  
  
Miyai shook her head and regained her composure with a big fake smile.  
  
"N-nothing!"  
  
Zack studied her for a moment when it occurred to him.  
  
"Ahhh, I get it. You got a crush on him don't you?"  
  
"What?!" She snapped.  
  
"Yep, you got a crush on him." Zack teased.  
  
"Don't make me laugh!"  
  
"Awww, what's wrong? Afraid I might tell?"  
  
"That's not it! Shut up!"  
  
"Hahahaha! Don't worry, I won't tell! It'll be between just you and me. I promise."  
  
"You got it all wrong you big jackass!"  
  
"Sure, sure, whatever." Zack walked out the door.  
  
"Grrrr, I'm gonna kill him someday." Miyai growled following him out.  
  
They rode the elevator in silence to the 28th floor. Zack didn't say a word because Miyai seemed too fascinated with night sky. He did notice though, a hint of sadness in her eyes, but he didn't ask in response to that she might turn around and smack him. So he settled for staring at her. He never met someone this beautiful before. He's been with women who were hot, but Miyai surpasses hot. She's insanely gorgeous. Her shiny raven hair up in a simple ponytail, leaving her bangs to shade her face. Her face is a masterpiece. Fair skin and pink lips. Eyes of an unnatural dark blue- green hue and complete with a beauty mark just below the corner of her left eye. As for her body, it's in a league of its own. Regardless of her baggy clothing, he can tell she works out and still has an hour glass figure. Her arms and legs show the work in a toned, feminine way. But she sure can hit pretty damn hard though. And thank the heavens she has an ass and a decent chest size. Makes him wanna jump her right now. Would she notice if he "accidentally" pushed the emergency stop button? Lucky for her, they reached the 28th floor. Many of the cadets were out and about in they hallways as Zack and Miyai made their way to their destination. The new cadets were basically star struck by the fact that they got to see two Soldiers, while the old cadets greeted Zack.  
  
"Are they staring at both of us or just me?" Miyai asked.  
  
"Probably both." Zack nodded in acknowledgement at one of his friends, "They never seen a Soldier until now. You should feel honored that people think you're one."  
  
"I don't really care."  
  
"Hey Zack! Nice girlfriend you got there!" A cadet shouted as they walked by.  
  
"You're telling me!"  
  
"Girlfriend eh? Since when did that happen?"  
  
"Eh, too lazy to say that you aren't."  
  
"You big slut you."  
  
They turned a corner and stopped.  
  
"We're here." Zack nodded his head at the ladies' bath beside them.  
  
"What are you going to do?"  
  
"Go talk to that fat man, Heidegger and let him know you're my roommate, unless..........you want me to join you." Zack smiled.  
  
"Go away." Miyai went into the ladies' room.  
  
"Fine, but I've been told I'm very good with my hands."  
  
"Then use them on yourself!" She shouted back.  
  
"She wants me." Zack grinned leaving.  
  
Miyai turned on the shower. She stood there, relaxed as the warm water rained downed her naked body.  
  
/ It's been a long time since I had a nice shower....../ She closed her eyes. / The guys back home would be so jealous./ She lowered her head./ I wonder.........if they are still alive since that last attack. If they are.........are they still wishing? Wishing that life will one day be the way it use to be? I'm suppose to bring back that life for them.........by reconstructing Cloud's broken soul. What is it here, in this time, that starts your misery? Something traumatic that makes you our End? I have a feeling this isn't going to be easy........./  
  
// For a future I couldn't have.........letting go of the future all together.........//  
  
Miyai's eyes shot open./ That voice?! It couldn't be!/  
  
"Hey, have you heard?"  
  
Miyai looked up.  
  
"Heard what?"  
  
"That there's an actual female Soldier now."  
  
"Oh wow, really?!"  
  
"Yes!"  
  
Miyai couldn't see the two girls because they were at the sinks. She grabbed the shampoo and squirted some in her hand.  
  
"That's so cool! I bet she can kick all those male Soldiers' asses!"  
  
Miyai smirked as she scrubbed her hair.  
  
"I heard she's very pretty too, but looks like a tomboy."  
  
/There's nothing wrong with that./ Miyai rinsed her hair.  
  
"Heard she's Zack's girl too."  
  
"........." Miyai's eye twitched.  
  
"Awww, does that mean he's not single anymore?"  
  
"Hahahaha! Since when has Zack stayed in a relationship for more than a day?!"  
  
"Yeah, you're right. Maybe I should go make myself noticed tomorrow by him."  
  
"Go for it! With you around, that Soldier girl doesn't stand a chance!"  
  
Their laughter faded as they left the bathroom. Miyai grabbed the soap and started scrubbing her body vigorously.  
  
/Stupid Zack! Stupid Cloud! Stupid people!/  
  
After several minutes of cursing to herself, she was done with her shower. She dried off, and dressed in her dark blue satin pjs and black slippers. She then stood infront of the mirror as she brushed her damp hair.  
  
/What shall I do next? Go wander around aimlessly? Find Zack and beat him up? Find Cloud and torture him 'til he tells me his damn problem? Nah, maybe I'll go play detective and sneak into the place with all the personal files of everyone here./ Then her stomach growled./ Or not. I guess I can feed you now. First I'll just drop my stuff off at the room./  
  
Miyai left the bathroom and headed for elevator. After she dropped by the room, she asked a guy where the cafeteria was, slapped him for staring too long at her breasts, and went on her way. When she was finished eating what they served as "food", Miyai went back to the room and plopped down on the one spot of couch that didn't have something on it.  
  
"I can't believe how fuckin' lazy Zack is! I swear, a scientist could come in here and have a field day after discovering colonies of new organisms under all this shit!" Miyai looked at what resembled a molding pizza beside her. ".........Did that thing just blink at me?.........Hmmmm......... I'm not liking this."  
  
Miyai stood up, "That's it, I'm going to brush my teeth and then go to sleep and hopefully not have nightmares of this. And the hell if I'm goin' back down just for a minute."  
  
She grabbed her toothbrush and paste and left the room. Some of the Soldiers in the halls watched her walk down the hall towards the bathroom. When she goes in, several shouts of embarrassment and shock could be heard.  
  
"Oh shut up. Even if it was anything grand, I'd still not give you the time of day." Miyai ignored the looks as she made her way to the sink.  
  
To get out of there quickly so the guys wouldn't die from a heart attack or something, Miyai quickly brushed her teeth. But when she was done, a sudden wave of extreme exhaustion and weakness came over her. She almost blacked out but her reflexes kicked in and she grabbed a hold of the sink.  
  
/Wha-what was that all about?/ Miyai looked in the mirror to see her ghastly pale face. / Is it because my body hasn't fully recovered yet?/  
  
She snapped out of her train of thought when she felt a hand rest on her shoulder. She turned around.  
  
"Hey, are you all right?" The guy looked concerned.  
  
"I'm fine.........just a little exhausted that's all." Miyai smiled weakly "Thanks for your concern though........."  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
"Yeah, I just need to go rest........." Miyai grabbed her stuff and tried to leave, but her balance was starting to fail her.  
  
"Here, I'll help you there." The guy grabbed a hold of her but she shoved him away.  
  
"I'm ok really.........I can get there on.........my.........own." Miyai suddenly blacked out.  
  
// You'll be fine soon Miyaiku.........just rest for now.........//  
  
Dreams. He was told that they mean nothing. But these dreams feel as though they hold something behind them. Since he was little, strange and intriguing dreams have haunted his mind. Some are good.........and some are bad. He doesn't tell anybody about these dreams. He doubts they'd understand them if they held any meaning. So, what do they mean if they mean anything at all? Especially those that are repetitive.  
  
This dream has come two nights in a row. And it is here tonight. It's rather eerie and interesting at the same time. A desert; and endless scene of dry, barren land with cracks that make it resemble a puzzle. Above him, is a sky of rolling, thundering, storm clouds. Occasionally a beam of sunlight would peak through. Here he stands, in a river that splits the land in two, but it isn't water that is flowing in it. No, it's the lifestream. The lifestream that looks contaminated with something. Something that resembled blood but darker. And he's standing in it, waist deep and fully naked. And a few feet infront of him is a person. By the shape of the body, the person's a grown female. Blood paints her naked body and black hair. He can't see her face because she's wearing a porcelain mask; a mask with cracks in it with tiny streams of blood dripping from them. She's not even looking at him. Instead, she's looking at the glowing white light, hovering just above her hands. Her aura complexes him. It feels warm and peaceful, while at the same time, cold and dangerous. He wants to know what is being shown to him, but there's always a bright flash that wakes him up. Its not like it's a nightmare but there's an ominous feeling that lingers after it's over.  
  
Knowing he won't be getting back to sleep, Sephiroth sits up in his king size bed, letting the black silk sheet slide down his bare chest. He claps his hands twice and the lights come on. Sephiroth lets his eyes adjust before looking at the clock. It's 4:15am. He groans as he slides out of bed and heads for the bathroom for a cup of water. He comes back and sits down on the bed, takes a sip of water, and sets it down on the nightstand.  
  
/ What shall I do now?/  
  
// Turn on the TV.//  
  
/ Ah yes, there's always you still./  
  
// Turn it on now.//  
  
/..........why?/  
  
// You'll see..........//  
  
Sephiroth got up and walked over to his TV. He turns it on and takes the remote. He hates watching TV. Books off him more than the shit that's called entertainment on TV. He keeps the thing for decoration purposes and for Zack when he comes over and waits in here for Sephiroth to get ready. Although he doesn't understand why he doesn't wait in the living room. Sephiroth sits back down and turns on the tube. Lucky for him, it's the 24hr. news channel. He really needs to know that some random guy in Costa Del Sol got shot in a bar fight. It makes his life more fulfilling to know that.  
  
"In other news, two teams of scientists went to Bone Village and Icicle Lodge late yesterday to investigate the earthquake that happened earlier that morning. Unknown of the magnitude of the earthquake, there was only minimal damage in both areas and no casualties. The only real concern from this earthquake was the avalanches it caused near Icicle Lodge. The epicenter is believed to be around the City of the Ancients. This is the first earthquake in thousands of years to strike the Northern Continent."  
  
/Is this what I needed to see?/ Sephiroth was slightly disappointed.  
  
"Also, the archeologists in Bone Village said that several hours after the earthquake, a girl emerged from the Sleeping Forest."  
  
Sephiroth raised an eyebrow with interest. The news switched from the anchor woman to a pervious recorded segment of an archeologist talking to a reporter.  
  
"This girl was dressed exactly like an Ancient and she came out of the forest without needing the Lunar Harp to pass through. We thought she was a ghost at first but told us she wasn't and she also told us she wasn't an Ancient. But we knew better than that. How could she not be one? She was dressed like one, she looked holy, she came from the City of the Ancients, and she even had ultima materia. No one has ultima materia!"  
  
"So what happened after all that?"  
  
"Oh, she wanted a ride to Midgar. She didn't tell us why though. So she got a ride on a cargo ship bound for Junon, but she got off at Kalm. Man, she sure was pretty. I wonder if she is single........."  
  
"Right, and-"  
  
Sephiroth turned of the TV. He knew what he needed to know but it puzzled him.  
  
/ Another Ancient.........that's interesting. An earthquake and then a new Ancient. I know that's not a coincidence. Hojo would die knowing that he has another Ancient to toy with. Unless he already knows. But why is there another one? And what purpose does she have here in Midgar? I must find out./ Sephiroth got up to put of some clothes.  
  
The alarm clock goes off. A hand slams down on it to shut it up. Zack's not a morning person. Back home, he would sleep past twelve, but nowadays he has to get up at 6am. Zack looks up at his clock. 6:01am. He plops his head back down on the pillow.  
  
"I hate mornings.........." Zack groaned groggily into his pillow.  
  
"Mornings aren't so bad."  
  
He looked up at the doorway. There was the ever so beautiful Miyaiku standing there. Zack sprung back to life at the sight of the little vixen. He almost forgot he had a roommate.  
  
"Well good morning there sexy." Zack smiled brightly.  
  
"Hmmm.........I see I woke something else up too." Miyai pointed to his lap.  
  
"Huh?" Zack looked down "Oh shit!"  
  
He immediately pulled the covers back over his lap as he blushed. Ironically, he was wearing his smiley boxers still.  
  
"And now you try to be modest." Miyai smirked "Hurry and get dressed. I have no clue what I'm suppose to do today, and I'm bored. I cleaned your living room because I had nothing to do."  
  
"You what?!" Zack jumped out of bed and zipped past her into the living room. "Holy shit!"  
  
Zack was dumbfounded at the sight of his "new" living room. It was almost sparkling clean. The garbage was in giant trash bags near the front door, clothes were in laundry baskets, books were stacked neatly on the shelves and on the floor near a corner, magazines were stacked in piles according to what they were, and the floor was now clean.  
  
"Wha, why did you do this?!"  
  
"Like I said, I was bored. I was up since four somethin' due to a bad dream. I think your TV is broken, and I didn't like your selection of reading material. Especially the porn. So I cleaned up."  
  
"I liked it the way it was before though. You didn't have to go do all this."  
  
"Well, I wanted it to be clean since I'm staying here too.........It is ok right? That I stay here?"  
  
"Yes, yes, it's ok by Heidegger and me."  
  
Miyai sighed in relief.  
  
"Oh man, I'm gonna have to get use to this." Zack scratched his head "'Least she's hot."  
  
"Hey!" Miyai threw a book at him.  
  
"Ow! Hey, it was a compliment!" Zack rubbed the side of his head.  
  
"Your compliments won't get me to have sex with you! Now go get ready!"  
  
"All right, all right crazy woman!"  
  
It only took Zack fifteen minutes to take a shower and stuff. He was standing infront of a mirror in his Soldier's uniform trying to comb his wild hair.  
  
"Fucking hair. Where did I get this freak of nature from anyway? None of my parents have strange hair."  
  
"Hey Zack, what's up?" A fellow Soldier came up beside him.  
  
"Having issues with my hair Sam." Zack attacked a knot.  
  
"Haha! Your hair's crazy just like your roommate." Sam laughed.  
  
"Yeah but she's got the looks to kill, which is all that matters." Zack grinned.  
  
"You dog." Sam said.  
  
"Woof! Woof!"  
  
They laughed.  
  
"So, have you talked to Mike yet?" Sam asked.  
  
"Nah man, I haven't seen him since Saturday."  
  
"Well, he told me that you're little girlfriend was in here last night."  
  
"In here?"  
  
"Yeah and this morning. Just brushing her teeth."  
  
"I don't get her at all."  
  
"Yeah she is strange. She blacked out in here last night you know ."  
  
"Blacked out?"  
  
"Mike noticed that something was wrong, but she refused his help until she blacked out. He caught her and carried her back to your room."  
  
"Miyai didn't tell me that........."  
  
"Maybe you should ask." Sam suggested "She doesn't sound like the type to just open up to anybody. It's worth a shot though. See ya later."  
  
Sam left. Zack stared at himself in the mirror.  
  
"I hope her personality isn't like Seph's. I already have Cloud being a prick. I don't need another one."  
  
Miyai was in the bedroom, putting her stuff away in the free drawers. She was already dressed to go. Being the tomboy that she is, she's wearing a white t-shirt, baggy jeans and sandals. Her hair is up in two buns on each side of her head, wrapped in white cloth and tied with black ribbons. Zack comes in.  
  
"Do you not wear girlie clothes?" Zack asked.  
  
Miyai turned around, "No. I hate them. I feel more comfortable in this."  
  
"I think you would nice in them."  
  
"I don't care, I'm not wearing them."  
  
"So why'd you black out last night?" Zack leaned on the doorway.  
  
"I guess exhaustion." Miyai slipped by him into the living room.  
  
"I think there's something else to that." Zack followed her.  
  
"Good, then tell me when you figure that out."  
  
"You're hiding something from me. And I will find out."  
  
"When you do," Miyai stopped at the door and looked over her shoulder at him "you won't believe it. I was meant to be this way for now."  
  
She left leaving Zack confused.  
  
"For.........now?"  
  
The cafeteria was packed with cadets and Soldiers. First days are always hectic. Zack and Miyai had managed to shove themselves through the crowds of people over to the breakfast line. While they waited in line to get the crap they served, he told her that she needed to get her uniform and class schedule first. When the classes were over, she has forty-five minutes to whatever the hell she wanted and then report to the training area in another building. There, she has to do what the stupid commanders tell her to do until 7pm.  
  
"Sounds like fun." Miyai said sarcastically as she grabbed what she wanted to eat.  
  
"Yeah, and you have to do it for a year before you can try out for Soldier." Zack said.  
  
"What if you don't want to join Soldier?"  
  
"Oh, um you don't have to. There's always the Turks."  
  
"I don't want to join them either."  
  
"Then why are you here?"  
  
"Have nothing else better to do."  
  
"Ok........."  
  
Miyai got herself pancakes, waffles, a bagel, a bowl of cereal, a muffin, scrambled eggs, and a glass of OJ. Zack just didn't bother to ask. All he got was a bagel and a cappuccino to go.  
  
"Hey, look, I gotta go. It's almost seven and I need to go to training." Zack said.  
  
"You're leaving me here all alone?" Miyai pouted.  
  
"Man, I'd honestly love to stay and convince you to go out with me, but I must go. 'Sides, I'll be home later if ya wanna get your freak on." He flashed his cheesy trademark grin at her.  
  
"Go away before I beat you with that bagel." She threatened.  
  
"Are you the dominatrix type 'cuz I don't mind that either."  
  
Miyai puts her stuff down on the table but Zack runs off.  
  
"See ya later baby!"  
  
"How the fuck did he manage to get Aeris to like him?" Miyai sits down.  
  
When Miyai was finished eating, she threw away her stuff and was about to leave when a loud noise followed by laughter caught her attention.  
  
"Hahaha! Look at him ! Just like a little girl!"  
  
There was a bunch of cadets circled around something or someone. Miyai was gonna ignore it but she heard a familiar voice from the group.  
  
"Fuck off........."  
  
/Cloud?/ Miyai thought.  
  
"What's that? Fuck off?" The leader of the group grabbed Cloud by the hair and pulled him up, making Cloud yelp in pain "No can do, you sorry piece of shit. You disrespected my friend here and those who disrespect my posse, gets a beat down."  
  
The guy threw Cloud down and kept him there with his foot. Cloud cringed at the pressure the guy was putting on his back.  
  
"Now apologize to my buddies."  
  
"But I didn't do anything.........!"  
  
"Your pathetic presence bothered them."  
  
/Cloud, fight back. I know you can fight. I was told you knew some martial arts when you this young. Stop taking this shit from them./ Miyai watched  
  
"I'm not apologizing to those bastard so go fuck yourselves!" Cloud shouted.  
  
"You fool!" The guy kicked Cloud in the side.  
  
Cloud cried in pain. Miyai looked away in anger.  
  
"Say it!"  
  
"N-no!"  
  
/In a way, it pleases me to see you get hurt. But.........if this is somehow related to why you end up the way you do then........./ Miyai slammed her fist on the wall /Damn this obligation./  
  
"Well then, I guess it's time we show you what real pain is like. Let's get him boys."  
  
"What the hell's goin' on here?!"  
  
The guys look at Miyai.  
  
"Oh shit, it's a Soldier!"  
  
"I DEMAND an answer you lowlifes!" Miyai crossed her arms.  
  
"It's, it's nothing ma'am! Just a misunderstanding!" The leader was clearly nervous.  
  
"A misunderstanding huh? Well from the looks of it you were beating up on him for enjoyment because he looks like an easy target for little dickless morons such as yourselves to show the people here that you're badasses and can scare people into being inferior to you. Am I correct?" She was glaring them down.  
  
".........yes ma'am.........." all the guys lowered their heads.  
  
"I suggest then, you stop it before I show everyone here how fast you can fly after I kick your asses. Get out of my sight!"  
  
The group scattered away like headless chickens. Cloud sat up. Miyai knelt down infront of him.  
  
"Are you ok?" Miyai half-assed her concern.  
  
"I didn't need your help." Cloud kept his head down.  
  
"If only that was true........." She frowned slightly.  
  
"You're not even a Soldier. I saw you registering to join the army."  
  
"It doesn't matter. They thought I was one. That's what matters."  
  
"I could have stopped it myself."  
  
"Then why didn't you?" Miyai stood up.  
  
".........."  
  
"Always been stubborn, huh Cloud-kun?" Miyai turned to walk away "I guess it's good to be like that sometimes. See ya around Cloud."  
  
She started walking away.  
  
"Hey! Wait! How'd you..........know..........my name........."  
  
It was too late. She had already left. I'm skipping this crap that happens next 'cuz it's boring. Miyai gets her uniform, changes into it, gets her schedule, complains 'cuz they're bullshit classes and knows most of the stuff, and goes to her classes. Lucky for her, Cloud's also in her classes although he doesn't seem to notice. Each of four classes, she sits in the back, sleeps or daydreams, while Cloud sits in the front actually paying attention. At lunch, she just gets drink 'cuz the food scares her this time. And she sits alone since the people are either intimidated by her or they think she wants to be left alone.  
  
/ I feel.........lonely........./ Miyai stares down at her drink./ Aeris, where are you? I have no one here that I feel like I can talk too. I want to be strong, but I don't like this feeling of loneliness I have. I.........hate the hurt. I thought I became immune to it after everyone close to me was so brutally taken away from me, yet this one feeling still lingers on. How do I make it go away?/  
  
"Hi........."  
  
Miyai looked up, /Cloud........./ "Hi"  
  
"May I sit here?" Cloud asked.  
  
"Sure."  
  
Cloud sat down across from her with his tray. They sat in awkward silence for a minute 'til Cloud said something.  
  
"Thank you." Cloud stared down at his food as he twirled is fork in the mash potatoes "For earlier."  
  
Miyai looked over at him and noticed his nervousness.  
  
"Don't worry about it."  
  
"I shouldn't have been rude to you. You were just trying to help."  
  
"It's ok really. It doesn't bother me. I'm use to people giving me crap. I'm immune to it."  
  
"I think that's why people are staying away from you."  
  
"So be it. It doesn't concern me."  
  
"But your eyes say differently." He looked up at her.  
  
Miyia was slightly shocked, "They do?"  
  
Cloud nodded.  
  
"You're observant." She smiled sadly.  
  
"It was all I really did when I was back home.........Watch the world from the outside." He said softly.  
  
"It's helpful sometimes to be on the outside. You see things clearer when you get inside, Cloud-kun."  
  
"How do you know my name?"  
  
"That's my secret, Cloud Strife. But if it helps, mine's Miyaiku Valentine. Miyai for short."  
  
"Nice to meet you." Cloud stuck out his hand but was so rudely interrupted.  
  
"Hello there, my fair lady."  
  
/What now?/ Miyai slowly looked up to see a handsome, clean cut, nicely dressed man, with blue eyes and golden blonde hair. He had that suave look going on with that nicely pressed, expensive white suit and that grin that tells you that he has money and he'll buy your time if he has too.  
  
"Oh, hello." Miyai already had no interest.  
  
"I heard there was an angel gracing Shinra with her beauty and I immediately believed it was you when your presence struck me down. Please, let me introduce myself. I'm Rufus Shinra." Rufus stuck out his hand, ignoring the irritated Cloud.  
  
"Miyaiku." Miyai took his hand without looking at him.  
  
"Ah, such a wonderful name." Rufus kissed the back of her hand.  
  
/And yours sounds like a name for a damn monkey./ Miyai snatched her hand back. "Thanks, I guess."  
  
"Ahem."  
  
They looked at a pissed Cloud.  
  
"Anyway, why is such a lovely woman sitting by herself?" Rufus ignored Cloud.  
  
"Gee, I could have sworn that there's a person sitting infront of me. Oh, he's still there. His name is Cloud." Miyai pointed at Cloud, who waved.  
  
"Oh sorry, I couldn't see the little boy. They have booster seats for kids you know." Rufus smirked.  
  
"Yeah and they have this thing called an ass whooping for pricks like you." Cloud showed his pretty pearly whites.  
  
Miyai snickered which pissed Rufus off cuz he was insulted infront of a woman and she's laughing at him.  
  
"Why you little bitch!" Rufus grabbed Cloud by the collar. Cloud grabbed a hold of his arms.  
  
"Excuse me, but I suggest you not attack him or I'll step in." Miyai stood up.  
  
Rufus huffed and let go of Cloud, who straightens out his collar.  
  
"You should be grateful that I won't go against a lady's wishes little man or you'd be feeling pain right about now. I shall be going now." Rufus looks at Miyai "And I never lose a woman to another man either. Good day."  
  
He leaves.  
  
"Now I know why everyone in their right minds, hated him as a president." Miyai sighed.  
  
"He's vice president." Cloud corrected her.  
  
"Oh yeah right, wrong time." Miyai grabbed her drink "It's time to go be slaves now, anyway."  
  
They threw away their stuff and headed for the training building. And at the training building, they did a bunch of formation crap the whole freaking time. Miyaiku learned everything quickly while Cloud struggled. He kept getting yelled at for screwing up so much that he was punished by scrubbing the entire training arena floor with a hand brush. Many of the cadets laughed when he started doing it. He would be there until morning scrubbing that floor. So Miyai left and sat alone in the cafeteria once again.  
  
/Does Cloud live like this until that Nibelheim trip? It's weird to see him act this helpless and weak knowing he's the strongest person in the world in the future. You need to stop holding yourself back Cloud. You're not what you others say you are. And you don't need to be here to prove anything to anyone or try to be strong so someone will notice you. You'll be strong once you let go of those thought that you're not. So stop being an idiot!/  
  
"Whatcha thinking about?"  
  
"Just stuff I care not to tell you about, Zack." Miyai bite into a biscuit but then spit it out "What the fuck?!"  
  
"You don't have to eat it you know." Zack sat down beside her.  
  
"But I'm hungry."  
  
"Wanna come with me to a better place?"  
  
"Are you asking me out on a date?" Miyai raised an eyebrow in suspicion.  
  
"No, but I can make it a date." Zack pulled her to him "And after dinner, we can go home for dessert. Are you into kinky sex?"  
  
Miyai grabbed the back of his head and slammed his head forward into the table.  
  
"Ah ha!" Zack fell out of his seat with his hands covering his face.  
  
People were watching and laughing. Miyai took a sip of her drink, calmly as though nothing happened.  
  
"Why'd you do that?!" Zack sat up rubbing his forehead.  
  
"Because every time you come onto me like that, you're begging to be my personal punching bag."  
  
"You're an evil, evil woman." Zack sat back in his seat.  
  
"Oh? I though I just had common sense." She smirked.  
  
"Sorry, but I'm not giving up that easily, if the least I get is a date with you." Zack said. "But earlier was just an invitation to come eat some great food over at a friend's house. He's a wonderful chef so I eat there for dinner."  
  
"Who's your friend?"  
  
"Seph."  
  
"Ah, so he goes from being a mass murderer to a gourmet chef. How cute."  
  
"Hey now, Seph's not all bad. He's a big fuzzy teddy bear deep down inside. I know so."  
  
Miyai ponders that thought. She pictures Sephiroth in a teddy bear outfit, dancing and singing to a happy love song. Much to Zack's surprise, She suddenly starts laughing her ass off. Other cadets were shocked too.  
  
"You're laughing........." Zack cocked his head.  
  
"By the gods, that's hilarious! Whahahaha!!" She was on the verge of tears as she clings on to Zack for dear life from falling.  
  
"What are you laughing at?" Zack was unsure what to do in this situation. She's been a rock since she first got here and now she's laughing.  
  
"Haha, *sniff*, that was, haha, funny man!" She whipped her eyes "Sephiroth as big happy teddy bear. Hahaha! Funny ass picture!"  
  
Zack looked down at her face. Her face was glowing. Her cheeks a tint of pink from laughing so hard. In this moment of her calming down, he notices how pretty she is when she's smiling. It's not a real smile, but it's close to a genuine smile. Miyai looks up at Zack.  
  
"What are you looking at?" Miyai asked.  
  
"You know, you should smile more and loosen up. You look more beautiful when you do." Zack smiled.  
  
Miyai stared at him, letting that comment sink in. When it did, she jumped up and ran out of the cafeteria.  
  
"Oh yeah, I'm wearing her down baby." Zack flexed his muscles.  
  
Miyai ran back to the dorm and into the bedroom. She fell to her knees looking rather confused.  
  
/Did he say I was beautiful? I.........have never been called beautiful in that way before. He must be lying. It's one of his stupid antics to lure me into his evil clutches. Yep, and I'm not falling for it.........but there's this funny feeling in my stomach that makes me wanna blush./  
  
She stood up and walked over to a standing mirror to look at her reflection.  
  
"I look healthier than before I came to this time. It's probably the Cetra's doing though. I almost look normal." Miyai placed a hand of the reflection's heart "But my scars are still there. Both inside........." She placed her hand on her heart "And out.........."  
  
The sound of something outside took Miyai out of her thoughts. Miyai went to the balcony doors and opened them. It was raining. Real rain. Miyai stepped out and let rain surround her.  
  
/Rain.........actual rain./ Miyai held out her arms like she's trying to embrace the rain. /I like this rain.........it's comforting./ She hugged herself./ Hey Aeris? If you're listening, I think I could get use to it here........./  
  
Miyai sat down slipping off into dreamland, not caring that the rain is soaking her.  
  
A/N: Man, this just wouldn't end. I hope it turned out ok. This almost completely different than my rough draft. But I'm done now and I now I can go die. ::dies:: Review if you care too. 


	8. Chapter4:Part2

Whew. It's been awhile, ne? Big writer's block and inner voices battling over the fic. At one point, I was about to get rid of it all together. I was rather frustrated with it. It wasn't the whole story, just this part. I kept rewriting it. I love Cloud and all, but I hate just focusing on him. Perhaps I should have done it another way. Miyaiku and he are the main characters, though. And it's funny cuz I like Sephy the best. *makes rabid fan girl scream*. Bah, it's not just this part; it's the beginning in general. I have all these ideas and they take place later on. Damn that getting from point A to point B. Need a shortcut. Other than that, I've been rather lazy at doing this. I've been drawing them. And I am finally happy with a pic I drew of Miyai! I drew a profile shot of her and one of her in a certain uniform. But enough chit chat 'til the end. I'm mean to Cloud in here, and I'll continue to pick on him cuz I want to. And if this chapter sucks...I don't care. I'm not rewriting it. Goody, I fixed some errors, but not all cuz it's a piece of shit!  
  
Chapter 4; Part 2  
  
Cloud's Wonderful First Day.  
  
//So what's your impression?//  
  
/...Huh?/  
  
//How do you like it here so far?//  
  
/I guess...not so good as I thought it would be/  
  
//I knew as much//  
  
/Who...are you and how are you talking to me?/  
  
//Heh, I just can. As for who I am...I was somebody...but now I don't  
even exist as anybody//  
  
/Are you dead?/  
  
//In many ways...yes//  
  
/Um...ok/  
  
//Enough of this. I'm here for a reason. Someone's here for you.  
It's sad to say though, for the reason she's here, it's already a  
failed attempt to fix the inevitable//  
  
/I'm confused.../  
  
//Don't worry about it. Just when you met her, don't be intimidated.  
She...has a good heart...I just hope she doesn't lose that part of her  
when the time comes...//  
  
/...sure...although I'm still so lost/  
  
//Sorry, but I must go now. So do you//  
  
/What no-/  
  
//Wake up!//  
  
Cloud jerked awake. 6am on the dot and the alarm was sounding. He slowly sits up, looking like hell. He blinks sleepily a couple of times then leans over to turn off the alarm.  
  
/Only four hours of sleep...It better not be like this all the time/  
  
Poor Cloud was stuck with party animals for roommates. His first night didn't go as well as he wished. When he entered his dorm last night, the smell of cigs and alcohol filled his nostrils. His lovely roommates were sitting at fold out table, being loud drunks while playing poker. One roommate was, perhaps Wutaian, or Solian(Costa del Sol), or both. He was bald, tall, built and he looked rather pissed or that was his natural look...or something. And he's wearing sunglasses. Why? Cloud doesn't care to know. He was the quietest of the three and probably less drunk. Cloud picked up his name from the other two; Rude. The other roommate sitting across from Rude, was a short, but still taller than Cloud, scrawny looking, brown hair guy. Believe his name was Lenke. Now Cloud's last roommate worries. Not just because he was the stupidest drunk there, but he too got the impression the blond was a female. The sloppy, funky red hair in a ponytail, slightly pale guy had sluggishly attempted to sweet talk his way into his pants when he too, ended with the same fate as Zack did. But Reno won't remember that in the morning anyway right? Cloud yawned and stretched before removing the covers and swinging his legs over the edge of the bed. He looked over at Reno and Rude. Yep, still sleeping. Reno with his arm dangling off the edge of the top bunk, snoring loudly, and Rude sleeping peacefully, but still had that mean face on. Must be natural.  
  
/Should I, or should I not wake them up?/ Cloud tapped his chin  
with his finger, pretending to ponder that question. /The  
punishment for being late on your first day could be bad. Worse  
if they don't show up for anything/  
  
Cloud stood up, careful not to hit his head on the top bunk. He looked up at the other sleeping roommate.  
  
/...Naaaah/ Cloud grinned evilly.  
  
So the little blond grabbed some clothes and necessities and left the room with a big, fat grin on his face.  
  
The halls were bustling with new and old cadets. The newbies were running around acting like excited or panicky children on their first day of school, while the older cadets acted casual. Cloud was proud that he wasn't acting like a wuss, but unfortunately, with low self-esteem, he already believes he's one. And he always reminds himself of it too. He was scanning the girls as he passed by, when he realized why he was. Cloud was looking for this "she" from his strange dream with a voice. Now that he thinks about it, that voice sounds vaguely familiar. It was definitely an older male's voice, but it had this quality to it that makes sound like it was his own voice. Why...was it unhappy?  
  
/And why is there someone here for me? What purpose does serve? Am I  
that pathetic at getting a girl to like me that the gods decided to  
send me one to like me? Is that the plan?/ Cloud mentally assaulted  
himself as he headed for the bathroom. /Was that dream even for real?/  
  
Yet Cloud kept looking for a girl that would stick out in some way. Besides some giving him dirty looks, none looked important. He made it to the bathroom and sighed heavily because it was full of guys...with some being not so straight guys.  
  
/Oh...goody/ Cloud frowned.  
  
He took a deep breath and walked in avoiding eye and body contact with everyone in there. Of course he couldn't help but blush somewhat from being around so many half-nude, or completely nude guys. He's never showered in the same room as someone else before except when he was little and his mother bathed him. But that was different. Cloud found an empty locker, quickly and shyly disrobed, threw his stuff in the locker, and jumped into a shower stall all in two minutes. New record! Though the stalls only have side walls and no curtain. His bum bum is exposed to the world and it makes him feel vulnerable.  
  
/I feel violated...somehow/ Cloud turned on the shower.  
  
Warm water rained down upon him as he hurried to cleanse himself because the water was turning cold and he was nervous. Everyone once in a while he would jump when he heard a whistle or a cat call, prompting him to hurry some more. And when he was finished, Cloud scurried over to his locker with a towel wrapped around him.  
  
/I'm going to need to get use to this. I'll be doing this for  
awhile/ Cloud shut his locker.  
  
Out of the corner of his eye he saw someone a few feet away looking at him. Cloud looked and the guy watching him winked and smirked. Cloud turned red and anxiously got dressed. He then went to a sink, and proceeded to brush his teeth and mess with his damp hair. Even when it's wet, it doesn't loose its drastic spikes. Just weighed down from water. Cloud likes his hair but it draws too much attention to it, mostly it being the brunt of jokes.  
  
/Oh well, I guess I am forever a chocobo/ Cloud put his long  
hair in his usual pony tail and left the bathroom.  
  
He proceeded his way to the elevators observing people as he goes by, taking mental notes of how they look and act. How everyone is with someone...talking, laughing, joking around...things Cloud hasn't been able to experience in all his life: A friendship. He thinks though that Tifa might have tried to befriend him before he was shipped off here. Some kind of promise they made that when whenever she's in a jam, he would come to her rescue. Either she was trying to live a fairy tale life with that one, or she actually meant it as some kind of way of trying to start something, Cloud doesn't care. Tifa finally gave him some attention and that made him more determined to make her notice him even more by becoming the best SOLDIER out there...just like Sephiroth.  
  
/Sephiroth.../  
  
Ah yes, Sephiroth. Just like so many unfortunate troopers, that heavenly being will more than likely plague Cloud's mind throughout his stay here too. Who can ignore that presence Sephiroth emits wherever he goes? 'Sides the magnetic aura, his looks would be hard to ignore too...  
  
/I bet he looks wonderful without any clothes on...?.../  
  
Cloud stopped dead in his tracks. He was somewhat freaked out.  
  
/Oh fuck, did I actually just think that? Where did that come from  
anyway? I was thinking of Sephiroth and then...and then I started  
thinking about how he looked...and...and...then I thought about him being  
naked, oh crap!/  
  
Cloud shook his head and tried to cover his now completely flushed face and slight erection. He had pictured the Great Sephiroth nude and it isn't such a bad thing...  
  
"Bad Cloud! Bad thoughts! Must not have bad thoughts!"  
  
As for the other people around Cloud, they tried to ignore the little blond boy that seems to be screaming at himself or the voices inside his head as they went on their merry way.  
  
/Think disgusting thoughts! Think of that fat man from yesterday in a  
pink string bikini! Fat man in bikini!/  
  
Cloud repeated that in his mind until he was able to construct a disturbing image of Heidegger striking poses...in a pink string bikini.  
  
/Oh gods, that's horrible!/ Cloud shuddered in disgust. /But it's  
working...too much/  
  
He waited a minute to regain his composure before he had the chance to puke up what he ate yesterday. Too bad for him though, he has to get on a crowded elevator now. And crowded elevators make him anxious nauseated. So when Cloud got on the elevator, he stood right in front of the elevator doors so he can bolt right out when they open again. And when the not so lucky passengers saw his sickly face, they tried to move far away as possible from him...which sadly, wasn't far.  
  
Zack, on the other hand, was having a grand ol' day already. Oh yes, he was humming and dancing down the hallway on the cafeteria floor. He occasionally gave cute girls he passed by a wink and his famous grin, making them giggle and blush. Normally, he'd stop and ask for their name and phone number, but not today. He was too far up in the clouds to care. Why? Because Zacky now has a goddess for a roommate. The gods have answered his prayers and gave him a female Sephiroth. Life was good. Very good. Even when a blond blur came crashing into him. The blond fell on his ass, while Zack only stumbled a little, quickly regaining balance and catching his drink but not the bagel.  
  
"Hey kid watch-oh it's you Cloud." Zack looked down at him.  
  
And then the gods gave him another temptation...damn.  
  
"Ow, my ass..." Cloud sat up to see an outstretched hand.  
  
"Whatcha running for Spike? Chocobo mistook you for a mate?" Zack smirked.  
  
/Oh no, not Zack/  
  
"Like your hair is any better." Cloud swatted his had away and stood up. "And stop calling me Spike."  
  
"Geez Spike, learn to take a joke." Zack felt offended by Cloud's refusal, "But yes my hair isn't any better. It owns its own country you know. It's called Massive Knot."  
  
Cloud couldn't help but chuckle at his slightly stupid joke. But seeing Cloud chuckle made Zack melt.  
  
/Damndamndamndamndamn! You're evil gods, you know that?! EVIL!/  
  
"Um, your bagel's still on the floor." Cloud pointed.  
  
"Oh right! Crap." Zack shook his head and bent down and picked it up, "Awww, my poor bagel."  
  
"Sorry about running into you. Small crowded spaces make me really nervous." Cloud scratched his head.  
  
"Oh, no problem Spike. I should have watched where I was going too. I was daydreaming." Zack was wiping off his bagel, "There! Good as new!"  
  
Zack bit into it making Cloud look at him in shock and disgust.  
  
/What the hell is wrong with this guy?/  
  
"Heeey, I got an idea!" Zack quickly took a sip of his drink.  
  
"Oh wow, you were actually thinking? Congratulations."  
  
"Bah, I'll think when I feel like it. Anyway, let's go hang out sometime when we're both free. Yeah, and I'll bring my hot ass roommate, and my other sex- er, friend too. What do ya say?"  
  
"I thought you said you have no roommates due to the fact you piss them off by your living habits or that you sleep with their girlfriends?"  
  
"Oh so you were paying attention. And it's not my fault their girlfriends 'accidentally' found themselves in my bed...or somewhere else like the couch, floor, table, balcony, on top of the TV. We got creative there. See we-"  
  
"Ok, that's WAY too much information there Zack. I'm still scarred from last night." Cloud tried to block out disturbing images.  
  
"Ok, ok. Anyway, I got a new roommate last night. And she's no ordinary roommate. She's a grade A, gotta tap that ass, kinda hottie. But anyway, I gotta go. I'm already late. See ya around, Spike." Zack patted Cloud on the shoulder as he walked by.  
  
"Damnit! Stop calling me Spike!" Cloud growled turning around.  
  
Zack just waved without looking back and Cloud kept growling. He snorted and walked to the cafeteria. When he got there, he grabbed something quick to eat. Ahh, overcooked waffles and warm milk. Yummy goodness. And being anti-social for reasons, Cloud sat and ate by himself in silence. Well, kinda. He was left alone, but wasn't ignored. He noticed a group of guys, obviously older than him snickering, pointing, and giving him evil looks. Cloud tried to ignore it, but a lonely, sinking feeling crept up in him.  
  
/I'll never be able to escape my past, will I?/  
  
After he finished, he got up to throw his stuff away, which required walking by the group of guys. So he took a deep breath and proceeded to walk by only to tripped. Cloud found himself falling forward as the tray of food slipped from his hands. He hit the floor as the tray hit and slid across the floor. They circled him while laughing.  
  
/Those sons of bitches. Just like the ones back home. Can't  
live without making someone else's life miserable/ Cloud growled  
as he tried to sit up.  
  
A forceful, painful blow crushed against his back, slamming him back down onto the cold tile. Dull pain crept up in his lungs as the air was forced out of his lungs. Cloud curled up as he coughed several times.  
  
"Hahaha! Look at him! Just like a little girl!"  
  
/Come on, get up/  
  
"Fuck off..." Cloud managed to spit out.  
  
"What's that? Fuck off?" One of the guys, more likely the leader, Cloud assumes from watching them earlier, grabbed him by the hair and pulled him up. Cloud yelped in pain. "No can do, you scrawny piece of shit. You disrespected my friends here and those who disrespects my posse, gets a beat down."  
  
Before Cloud could say anything, the leader shoved him down again. To make Cloud stays there, he crushes Cloud between his foot and the floor. Cloud's breath comes in gasps and sharp intakes from the lack of expansion his lungs are getting.  
  
/Get up and stop taking this shit for a change!/  
  
Cloud struggled to get free but was failing miserably.  
  
"Now apologize to my buddies." The leader smiled in satisfaction from the struggling boy he was hurting.  
  
"But I didn't do anything...!"  
  
"Your pathetic presence bothered them!"  
  
/I can't...I can't get free...gods, I'm a helpless child.../  
  
To match the pain he was receiving physically, Cloud was now mentally attacking himself. He let out a chocked sob.  
  
"Well?"  
  
Cloud turned his head to the side so he can see the guy from the corner of his eye, "I'm not apologizing to those bastards so go fuck yourselves!"  
  
"You fool!" A sudden pain raced throughout his body from his side.  
  
Cloud let out a cry of hurt.  
  
/Can't even defend myself even though I trained myself to some  
fighting skills...such a disappointment.../  
  
"Say it!"  
  
"N-no!"  
  
"Well then, I guess it's time to show you what a real pain is like. Let's get him guys." The leader smirked as he cracked his knuckles.  
  
/In the end...I'm nothing but a failure.../  
  
//I'm here now, so don't worry...//  
  
/Huh?/  
  
"What the hell is goin' on here?!"  
  
/What the fuck?/  
  
"Oh shit, it's a SOLDIER!"  
  
//Look up, it's her//  
  
"I DEMAND an answer you filthy lowlifes!"  
  
"It's, it's nothing ma'am! Just a misunderstanding!"  
  
Cloud slowly opened his eyes. He turned his head slightly to see what this girl looked like. When he looked up at her, he suddenly felt like his soul was being pulled out of his body. Then his vision just suddenly clouded over with waves of greenish-blue light as it felt like he was being pulled quickly through a...wormhole? There was such a sudden rush of overwhelming power enveloping him. Thoughts jumbled up inside his mind.  
  
/What in the world?/ The only thought he managed to squeeze out.  
  
Cloud looked forward...or was it up? Anyway, when he did, a bright light flashed and everything went white. Slowly his soul and body were reconnecting with one another with another new feeling...warmth? Then the real world started fading back in.  
  
/Was I hallucinating or was I dying? And what is this feeling  
that I'm drowning in?/  
  
Cloud found himself sitting up, hugging himself. Noting that, he stopped and looked around. Least the bullies didn't seem to notice since they seem were petrified on the spot, staring at the girl. Which reminded him, he should look again too.  
  
/Holy crap, she is pretty!/ He looked over the angry, little,  
raven haired beauty /And tomboyish...and pissed/  
  
"Get out of my sight!" Her eyes narrowed.  
  
The guys scattered away like frightened little children and Cloud took a closer look at the girl.  
  
/Hey wait a minute...I saw her last night registering in the  
lobby! She's not a SOLDIER! Fuck, this sucks now.../ He lowered  
his head in disappointment and slight embarrassment. /I just got  
my ass saved by another cadet. It was bad enough she was a girl  
to begin with. Gods, I'm so weak/  
  
The girl kneeled down in front of Cloud, making him forget his self loathing, and just blush from being this close to a very lovely...fully equipped grown female. He couldn't help but take peeks at her body while trying to hide the growing blush...and what not. He placed his hands in his lap.  
  
"Are you ok?"  
  
/Me? I'm feeling a little bit of everything that is mentally  
bad for your health and horniness. But it's best not to be  
stupid right now, so say something nicer/  
  
"I didn't need your help." /Didn't I just say not to be stupid?/  
  
"If only that was true..."  
  
Cloud became annoyed at that statement, especially since he picked up the sadness in the tone.  
  
/Oh great, so now you're gonna pick on me for being weak too? I  
don't have to take this from you. You're nothing but a regular  
like me that happens to have mako eyes/  
  
"I could have stopped it myself." Cloud snorted  
  
"Then why didn't you?"  
  
Cloud sunk. He should have known that was coming.  
  
/Why didn't I?/ Cloud felt despair /I...dunno...maybe it's just like  
back in Nibelheim. The other kids would jump me but I never  
would win even when I defended myself...so I would run away.  
That's it...because I know I will always lose.../ Cloud's head  
sagged lower. "..."  
  
"Always been stubborn, huh Cloud-kun?" He saw that she had stood up and turned to leave.  
  
/Hey wait a minute. She knows my name! How does she know my  
name?/  
  
"I guess it's good to be like that sometimes. See ya around, Cloud."  
  
"Hey! Wait! How'd you...know...my name..." He reached out to empty air. She was already gone.  
  
/Wow, she's fast/ Cloud stood up. /But what was that thing that  
happened earlier to me? Was it because she was there? Because  
of her? I can ponder this later, I need to go/  
  
He grabs his tray and stuff and throws it away and walks out of the cafeteria. Skipping ahead again cuz I can, Cloud gets his oversized uniform, complains for a little bit, gets his schedule, and heads for his classes. Cloud always sat in the front so he never noticed that girl was in his classes, but he felt like someone was watching. After all his classes, he dropped by his room, to drop off all the stupid books he got and clothes. And yes, his roommates were still passed out, with Reno now on the floor. He managed to fling himself over the railing. What talent. Cloud snickered as he left to go back to the cafeteria. Zack was on the cafeteria floor, talking with his friends, so Cloud did his best to sneak by without being seen. And it worked. The next thing he knew, he was in the cafeteria getting food.  
  
/I wonder about Zack. He is really just a kind person to  
everyone, or he's just stupid and horny. But he was talking  
with Sephiroth last night like they were buddies. I wonder what  
it's like to be friends with the Great General himself. But  
Zack's annoying, and I bet he gets on Sephiroth's nerves. He  
does seem like a prick, although he's strong...and respected...and  
fearless...and beautiful...and sexy...aw crap, not again/ Cloud  
blushed /Why am I thinking like that? It must be from my  
idolism of him. I'm not alone though, so do the others think  
like that too? Yeah, idols are always perfect in everyway in  
the fans' eyes...right?/  
  
Cloud finished getting his food and headed for an empty table when he noticed that the girl was sitting there, in the corner, by herself.  
  
/She looks...really lonely/ Cloud watched her stare down at her  
drink. Her face showed no real expression, 'cept that her eyes  
looked rather sad. /I bet no one goes near her because she's a  
'freak' somehow, due to her glowing eyes yet she's not a  
SOLDIER. I saw the crowd last night, watching her, whispering  
things about her, but no one would get close to her, or even say  
anything to her. In fact, I was one of those people.../  
  
("Just when you met her, don't be intimidated. She has...a good  
heart...")  
  
/I should go apologize. I shouldn't have been rude to her/ He  
started walking over to her. /Yep, and don't be intimidated,  
like the voice said/  
  
He stopped in front of her, on the opposite side of the table. She must be in deep thought because she doesn't notice he is standing there. He was starting to get a little nervous although he was trying hard not to be. There was a feeling in the air around, Cloud could sense. And it wasn't a pleasant feeling. It feels like she is trying to keep people away for some reason. Cloud took a deep breath and said,  
  
"Hi..."  
  
She looked up, expression showing she knows who he is, but somewhat confused, "Hi."  
  
"May I sit here?" /Please say yes/  
  
"Sure."  
  
Cloud sighed in relief and sat down. But then he was nervous again, so they sat in awkward silence.  
  
/Damnit, I'm being intimidated aren't I? But aren't I always  
afraid of people? And it doesn't help that she is drop dead  
gorgeous, yet that blue uniform doesn't suit her at all. But I  
shouldn't be thinking like this right now, I must thank her for  
earlier/  
  
Silence. It's been a minute.  
  
/Now would be a good time. So say it!/  
  
"Thank you," Cloud poked and swirled his fork in his mash potatoes, "For earlier."  
  
"Don't worry about it."  
  
"I shouldn't have been rude to you. You were just trying to help."  
  
"It's ok really. It doesn't bother me. I'm use to people giving me crap. I'm immune to it."  
  
/So you really are trying to intimidate people?/  
  
"I think that's why people are staying away from you."  
  
"So be it. It doesn't concern me."  
  
/Liar/  
  
"But your eyes say differently." Cloud looked up at her.  
  
She actually looked somewhat shocked, "They do?"  
  
He nodded. /Bingo/  
  
"You're observant." She smiled softly.  
  
"It was all I really did when I was back home...Watch the world from the outside." /I can see what people themselves can't see in them...or perhaps don't want to see/  
  
"It's helpful sometimes to be on the outside. You see things clearer when you get inside, Cloud-kun."  
  
"How do you know my name?"  
  
"That's my secret, Cloud Strife. But if it helps, mine's Miyaiku Valentine. Miyai for short."  
  
/Valentine? I think I heard that name before.../ "Nice to meet you." Cloud stuck out his hand, but was interrupted.  
  
"Hello there, my fair lady."  
  
/Who the fuck?/ Cloud and Miyai both looked at the person. /Vice  
President Rufus Shinra? Why is he here? No wait, nevermind, his  
favorite hobby is women, so he's here for her. Thank magazines  
for info on the Shinras' private life/  
  
"Oh, hello." Miyai showed no interest.  
  
Cloud noticed her look and smirked. /Already sense he's not a  
good person?/  
  
"I heard there was an angel gracing Shinra with her beauty and I immediately believed it was you when your presence struck me down. Please, let me introduce myself. I'm Rufus Shinra" The VP stuck out his hand, ignoring Cloud. /Little insect shouldn't even be able to sit in this goddess' presence/  
  
Cloud realized now that Rufus was intentionally going to ignore him.  
  
/Stupid asshole. Deliberately trying to not notice me here/ He  
was irritated now  
  
"Miyaiku." She took his hand without looking at him.  
  
"Ah, such a wonderful name." Rufus kissed the back of her hand. /Lack of interest, but that never lasts long. I'll sweet talk into my bed in no time/  
  
"Ahem."  
  
/What now?/ Rufus looked over at Cloud, annoyed /Can't he go bugger off?/ "Anyway, why is such a lovely woman sitting by herself?"  
  
/Why does everyone ignore me when they don't even know me?/  
Cloud pouted starting to feel his self-esteem falter again.  
  
"Gee, I could have sworn that there's a person sitting in front of me. Oh, he's still there. His name is Cloud." Miyai pointed over to him.  
  
/What? Oh, wow, Miyai isn't ignoring me/ Cloud suddenly decided  
to wave at Rufus just to spite him.  
  
/What? She wants him around? This little kid? Don't tell me  
he's gonna be my competition for her? Oh well, like I say  
always, I always win/ "Oh sorry, I couldn't see the little boy.  
They have booster seats for kids you know." Rufus smirked.  
  
"Yeah and they have this thing called an ass whooping for pricks like you." Cloud grinned in a comical way.  
  
Miyai started snickering.  
  
"Why you little bitch!" Rufus grabbed Cloud by the collar. /How  
dare he make me look bad!/  
  
/Oh shit!/ Cloud grabbed hold of Rufus' arms.  
  
"Excuse me, but I suggest you not attack him or I'll step in." Miyai  
stood up.  
  
/Fuck, I have to stop or it'll make it harder to get her/ Rufus  
huffed and let's go of Cloud.  
  
/Man that was close! Getting in a fight with the vice president  
would put a strike against me/ Cloud straightened his collar  
  
"You should be grateful that I won't go against a lady's wishes little man, or you'd be feeling pain right about now. I shall be going." Rufus looks at Miyai who looks rather indifferent. "And I never lose a woman to another man either. Good day."  
  
He leaves and as Cloud watches.  
  
/I'm the other man? He thinks I'm competition?/  
  
"Now I know why everyone in their right minds, hate him as president." Miyai sighed.  
  
/President? She thinks he's president?/ "He's vice president."  
  
"Oh yeah, right, wrong time." Miyai grabbed her drink, "It's time to go be slaves now, anyway."  
  
/Wrong...time? Wha?/ Cloud followed her. /She is mysterious/  
  
The training building. A separate building behind the Shinra HQ. It was a massive building with the second floor opened in the middle and a dome top. There weren't many windows on the first floor probably so no one can go flying trough them. But there was a big mirror on side wall, with a room on the other side. You know, so important people can watch without being noticed. He heard other cadets saying that Sephiroth is in there sometimes, but won't be today because he went somewhere. Damn. Miyai and Cloud leaned up against a wall talked since it wasn't time yet to start training. Miyai is twenty, is from Mideel, is the only child is half Wutaian, and her parents are dead. When she said that, he could sense sadness and anger in her voice. He didn't press the matter. Cloud didn't bother to ask why her eyes glow, at least not yet, because she is probably tired of people asking.  
  
/Wonder if she is strong like a SOLDIER?/  
  
Unfortunately, Miyai is also Zack's new roommate. Although she beats him up, it's still unfortunate. But he also knows now what Zack means by her being "grade A, gotta tap that ass kinda hottie". She is one. But anyway, when the instructors came in, they all got ready to have their asses drilled. And as he thought, it was funny when Reno, Rude, Lenke finally woke up and came in the training arena, and got their asses chewed out and told to run around the arena 'til training was over. Too bad, the instructors already knew them. It would have been funnier. Must be old cadets. Anyway, they trained away. At first, every new cadet screwed up and they kept getting yelled at. Except Miyai. She was the only that was doing everything right. But after awhile, it was just Cloud messing up. And the instructors didn't help but discourage him more when they kept screaming at him and others laughing. So when 7 rolled around, he was stuck to clean the entire floors of the building with a hand brush. Cloud wanted to curl up and die.  
  
/I hate life...why am I here again?/ Cloud dumped the brush into  
the soapy water and brought it back out. He started scrubbing  
in circles.  
  
"Cloud?"  
  
He looked up at Miyai. /She stayed behind?/  
  
"Hang in there, Cloud-kun, ok?" Was it just him dreaming, or did her whole demeanor just soften up?  
  
/Her expression...looks sincere, and I'm feeling that warming  
feeling again/ Cloud stared at her. "O-ok."  
  
She nodded and turned to leave. Did someone just care for him? He must be dreaming. He looked at the soapy circle on the floor. Nope not a dream...but it felt unreal. Cloud went back to scrubbing the floor and he tried not to bring himself down. He tried, but after several hours of looking at a floor and having your reason slowly disappear, he couldn't help but start mentally attacking himself.  
  
/Failure...always a failure. Look at me. I'm sitting here, scrubbing  
the damn floor for my lack of talent, self-worth, confidence,  
anything. I'm fucking nobody! Gods I can't even be a good cadet! I  
might as well be the fucking floor!/ Cloud tried to keep back the  
tears, but it's working. /For all I know, that's what people probably  
think I am. Something you can walk all over because it can't fight  
back. What is the point of me even trying to be anything or do  
anything when I know I'll just end up falling short of everything?  
Even people know I can't do anything right. But Miyai, Miyai said for  
you hang in there right? That means something right? Oh who am I  
kidding, she was sent to help you, remember? Help me with what?  
Become a nobody faster? Once she realizes I'm a lost cause, she'll  
leave. That's why I'll never have friends. I'm just-I'm just a sad  
pathetic-oh hey, I'm done/  
  
Indeed, Cloud had scrubbed his way into the last corner on the second floor. He stood up, dropped the hand brush into the bucket and wiped the sweat from his brow with his arm and he looked around. The he felt the cranks in his neck and back. He started stretching.  
  
/Man, I actually cleaned the entire floor. Yea, I can get the  
hell out of here now/  
  
He picked up his bucket and proceeded to the janitor's closet. At the same time, he heard the main doors on the first floor open. He closed the closet door.  
  
/Oh, who the fuck is walking on my nice clean floor?/ Cloud  
walked over to the railing but suddenly backed away as the  
person emerged from the shadows.  
  
Sephiroth. The heavenly being himself has entered the arena and apparently didn't notice that Cloud was in there too.  
  
/Holy fucking shit! It's Sephiroth! Oh my gods!/ Cloud's heart  
was about to burst out from his chest any minute.  
  
Sephiroth's moonlit hair and midnight black coat flowed together in a rhythm as the pale angel made his into the middle of the arena. In his hand was long, sheathed sword, which obviously was the elegant and legendary sword, Masamune. Cloud hid behind railing and peeked through the openings. Lucky for him, the railing wasn't glass. The General now stood in the middle of the arena, and laid the Masamune down. He then started taking off his gloves.  
  
/He must come here at night, to train because nobody's around to  
watch him...err, maybe I should go since it's his-  
HOLYSHITHE'STAKINGOFFHISCOAT!/ Cloud's eyes glued right back on  
Sephiroth.  
  
And the chest is now revealed and all is well in the world. Cloud's blood vessels in his face could pop in his face anytime because his face is so red. Such a nice muscular, perfectly chiseled chest, with washboard abs. Pale, but who cares? Sephiroth put his coat and gloves aside, walked back over to the sword, and picked it up, giving Cloud a perfect view of his ass.  
  
/That's not fair. A perfect chest AND a perfect ass. Life's a  
tease/ Cloud pouted ignoring the growing in his pants.  
  
Sephiroth unsheathed Masamune and threw the thing aside. With light from the moon hitting the long, silver blade just right, Cloud could have sworn the sword was winking at him. The General got in his fighting stance and in quick movement was swinging and swiping, and thrusting his sword in the air. He looked at ease, like a ballerina was on stage. And he was dancing...dancing in the silver rain of the moon. So graceful and poised and surreal. It even looked like he was dancing on air. Sephiroth was one with the Masamune and the Masamune was one with him. It was...beautiful.  
  
Cloud couldn't help but watch in awe, like he was in a trance. The  
day in end, wasn't so bad.  
  
End of Chapter 4  
  
...I'm done? I'm actually done? YAHOO! I'M DONE! ::does chibidance::  
  
Well, I guess this chapter wasn't entirely bad. I never finished my rough draft. So the entire part after Cloud's beating was just made up as wrote it. But anyway, I like being mean to Cloud and Zax. They're funny when they get stupid. Yeah...so, I'm gonna actually ask you nice people who read my fanfic, if you have any ideas u think could go into the story. I can't gaurentee I'll get them all in cusp, I do have a plot and there are things I actually changed to make things...more interesting. I'm also thinking on changing the title of the story. The current one sucks and was only a tempo til I could think of a better one...it's just I forgot what the better one was. Oh well, I'll remember later. I hate Microsoft word...fuck it, I can't get it to indent the way I want it. Shit, I'm leaving it like it is for now, I'm sick of looking at the computer screen, and I have fat fucker sitting here waiting for me to get off. Stupid Microsoft word and fat fucker...why the hell is it indenting only certain things. I hate this stupid new word program! I like the old one better on my ghetto computer! 


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